No Ordinary Girl
by originella
Summary: Eighteen-year-old Nöelle Parker is the daughter of the Dean of Evergreen University, where Lewis McCartney has been accepted in the marine biology division for research. When Lewis brings Cleo, Bella, and Will to America from Australia to stay in the Parker family guest house, who knows what will happen? But Nöelle is hiding a secret too, one that may ensure friendship with Cleo.
1. One of Us

Chapter One: One of Us

"Darling, they'll be here in less than two hours!" my father calls from the other side of my bathroom door. "You've been in there for a long time... I know how it is with makeup these days, but you need to come out! Our guests, I'm sure, don't like to be kept waiting..."

"Dad, come on!" I call back. "I've only got a couple of weeks left before I start college! Can't a girl take a look in a mirror in peace once in a while?" I ask, looking in the mirror at the stress zit that wouldn't seem to go away. "Please, don't worry. I'll be ready for these friends of yours by six. I'm not the problem child when it comes to getting ready..."

His sigh comes through the door. "All right, sweetheart. Just be ready. They're Australian, you know..."

"Yeah, Dad, I heard you telling Mom!" I call back. "Several times," I mutter to myself as I hear his footsteps receding in the other direction, out of my bedroom, and down the hall.

I am thankful that I've gotten my washing out of the way for the day as I continue to peer at myself. My hair is in curlers, so that it will appear to look semi-presentable for that evening, per my father's wishes. Sighing, I decide to put some concealer on and hope for the best. I get to my feet and proceed over to the door, where I let myself out, wrapped in a towel, and slip into some undergarments and into my robe.

I sit before my vanity table in my bedroom and peer at my reflection in the second mirror. My alabaster skin was flushed from the warm bath water, giving it a rosy tinge. Pursing my full lips, I shake my head at the violet eyes with the flecks of gold close to their center stare back at me. The upturned nose doesn't really do anything either, and I keep my eyes down whilst lifting a section of my chocolate-brown hair and proceed to dry it expertly.

When five o'clock dawns, after I've brushed out my hair and put on a bit of makeup, I cross the room to my walk-in closet and peruse my dresses, wondering which one will be appropriate for that night. Choosing a dress with tulip sleeves and a flared skirt, I quickly slip on a pair of matching flats as well. Slipping the dress over my head, I make sure my hair is still in place before putting my silver locket with the engraved N on it, and studded with a blue aventurine. I peer in the mirror one last time before shrugging and heading off downstairs.

I hear my father speaking to my mother about my brother and about how he will probably be late for dinner again. My older brother, whom they're speaking of, is frequently late for functions that have nothing to do with his work. James was an investment banker for a big firm Downtown, and his wife, Helena, would almost always come to his rescue and stand-in for him for family dinners. Although we all adored Helena, we all wanted to see more of James.

"Did James call to cancel?" I ask, stepping into the room.

"We don't know yet—but don't go getting any ideas, young lady," my mother tells me firmly.

I throw up my arms. "Not going to happen—I want to meet this guy that's got Dad all hot-to-trot."

"What are you talking about?" my father asks, distracted as always, with his nose in his Blackberry.

"You love this Lewis McCartney guy so much that part of me thinks you're tempted to adopt him or something," I say, shaking my head and walking over to the couch. "Not that I mind—he seems really cool."

"And very committed to his girlfriend," my mother puts in.

I roll my eyes. "Mother, please," I say, unlocking my phone and pretending to text my non-existent group of social friends. "I am not desperate to be dating—at all. I would like some peers who didn't bug me about it. I'm eighteen-years-old and I start college in a matter of weeks. Jumping into a new relationship right now is not a good idea."

The doorbell rings then, and my father jumps out of his skin.

"They must be early!" he cries, running out of the living room, down the hallway, and into the main foyer.

"He's got it bad," I say to my mother, becoming engrossed in my cell phone again as she shakes her head to follow him.

"You, too, Nöelle," she says, and I roll my eyes but, nevertheless, move to follow her into the foyer.

"Did I miss it?" demands Edmund, my perpetually annoying fourteen-year-old brother as he runs from the kitchen.

"Not by a long-shot," I say, rolling my eyes; he is nearly six feet, and I know he will shoot up more and overtake my five-feet-five frame even more. "We should go," I say as I hear our father speaking to the people who have come into the house and Edmund and I move to enter the vicinity.

"Ah, and here are our two younger children," our father says as we enter the place, just after he's introduced our mother. "This is Nöelle—she's eighteen and will be starting at the university in a couple of weeks. And this is Edmund—he's fourteen and starting his freshman year at the local private high school."

"Our older son, James, should be along shortly, with his wife, Helena," our mother puts in, always awkward when it comes to meeting new people. She tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear—which James had inherited, while Edmund and I had our father's hair—and looks from one of the four faces of the new people in our house to the next. "Have you seen the guest house yet?"

"No, we came straight here," says the shorter of the two males, and I judge from his close proximity to my father that this is Lewis McCartney. "Cleo said that we should come up to the house first."

"I said it would be polite," Cleo says, flashing a smile to Lewis.

"Why doesn't Nöelle show you around?" my father asks, walking up behind me and taking ahold of my shoulders. "You four will be in a lot of her classes anyhow and I know Lewis mainly knows the biology lab," he says, slipping the guest house key into my hand.

"Sounds great," the second girl says—she's blonde, and just as pretty as Cleo is, and seems more outgoing as well.

"Lewis, why don't you and Will come with me?" asks my father. "We can go over some marine biology and deep diving information. Edmund here is an Olympic hopeful for diving..."

"Sure," Will says—his accent makes his muscles seem sexier—but he quickly kisses Bella goodbye and my first thought is, Of course.

"Sounds great," Lewis says, kissing Cleo goodbye and walking off with Will and my father, Edmund trailing behind.

"I'll just check on dinner while you girls bond," my mother says, flashing us all a smile before leaving the foyer.

"So...I'm Nöelle," I say, smiling.

"Cleo," Cleo replies.

"Bella," says the final girl.

"Nice to meet you both," I tell them. "We can leave out this door," I say, and open it so as the light summer breeze catches us momentarily off-guard. "Come on," I say, flashing them both a smile and leading them outside. "Shall we get your bags first?" I ask.

"Good idea," Cleo says, walking to the halfway open trunk. She and Bella make quick work of getting their suitcases out of the back, and I raise my eyebrows—I guess they all four were moving in for a while.

"Need any help?" I ask, stepping forward.

Bella turns. "Thanks," she says, handing me a small duffel bag.

We walk around the side of the house and past the yard and the orchard, before making our way across the cobblestone yard and towards the lovely guest house that had been constructed around eight years ago. "Hasn't been lived in since my aunt and uncle bought a house," I say, unlocking the front door and stepping inside.

"Where are they now?" Cleo asks as we all step inside. To our left is the bottom-floor living room with first bedroom beyond that, while to the right is the laundry room which is complete with a washer and dryer, sink, and ironing board essentials, along with a bathroom in the back. As we go up the stairs, which are dead ahead, we reach the kitchen—not as grand as the one in the big house, but still very nice —along with a small breakfast nook and a formal eating area beyond. Past the nook is a second living room, and the second bedroom is beyond that. Past the kitchen is where a third bedroom is, all of which have en suite bathrooms.

"They were staying here for a few weeks after they moved to town," I reply as we walk upstairs. "My uncle is a doctor and he changed hospitals because he wanted to be closer to family," I say as I begin showing them around upstairs. "He and my aunt also tried having a baby but it wasn't working out so well, but then it finally happened and he got a job Downtown at the big hospital and they've got twin boys and things are great."

"Great story," Bella says, smiling. "I have a weird question—Cleo and I love taking baths..."

I raise my eyebrows again, and something passes between me and Bella then, but I say nothing of it. "Oh, I understand. So do I," I reply, and Cleo turns to look at me briefly. "All bathrooms have a separated bath and shower unit. I was only ten when the house was being built, but I loved baths starting from...I'd say twelve or something," I say, laughing. "My father hired contractors and everything to change the bathrooms on my say-so. I just like people having the option, you know?"

"You don't?" Cleo demands, bluntly, and Bella gives her a look.

I shrug, giving her an awkward smile. "Not important," I reply. "Now, what colors do you like? Each room has a neutral pallet..."

"Blues are nice," Bella says softly.

"I enjoy pink," Cleo tells me.

"Our room back there is salmon-colored," I say, nodding to the room off the kitchen and Cleo moves for it. "And the room over by the living room is a lovely shade of aqua."

"Thanks," Bella says, motioning for me to follow her as we make our way down to her new room. "What color is the room downstairs?"

"I think the paint was called 'kelp'," I reply. "I assume Lewis will be bunking with Cleo and Will with you?" I ask, and Bella turns to regard me for a moment. "I don't care—just curious."

"Probably," Bella says. "I mean, I know Cleo and Lewis will be sharing a room but for all I know, Will'll want the room downstairs to himself."

"New romance?" I ask casually, putting Bella's duffel on her bed.

"We became official right before graduation," she replies.

"That's sweet," I reply.

"It was your version of prom night, actually. Except it was a beach party with all of the other graduates."

"Do you call it a prom?" I ask.

"No, we call it a formal," Bella tells me. She turns and looks out at the impressive view, and looks first down in the yard below. "You have a pool?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I don't go into it unless I'm alone, though."

Bella immediately turns to look at me. "Why?"

Immediately, I flush and look away. "I don't like people seeing me," I say, and Bella nods, seemingly understanding.

She turns and continues to look out at our vast property line. "You own the woods?" she asks.

I nod. "Yeah—the house has been in the family for generations. It's more of an island than anything else. The water is incredible..."

"Water?" Bella asks.

I nod, sharing in her smile. "Yeah, out Cleo's window, you can see the ocean, of which we own a good chunk..."

"Saltwater or freshwater?"

"Saltwater," I reply. "I like going out there sometimes because it's quiet and nobody is allowed over there... I have to sneak over, because my parents think it's dangerous..." I shrug. "I make it work."

"Are you an Olympic hopeful?" Bella asks.

I shake my head. "No—too busy."

"Doing what?"

"Doing a little bit of this, and a little bit of that," I reply, raising and lowering my voice in order to demonstrate to Bella that I'm a singer.

Her eyes widen. "You, too?"

"What?!" Cleo demands, suddenly appearing in Bella's doorway and looking fearful. "What is she?!"

"A singer," Bella says, giving Cleo a Calm down! sort of look.

"Oh," Cleo says, relief cleansing her features. "Cool. Well, the boys should be along shortly."

"Oh. I'll leave you to get settled," I say, feeling as if Cleo didn't like me as I left the room. I walked through the living room, but not before catching the tail end of their conversation.

"Bella, remember—be careful."

"What are you talking about, Cleo?"

"We can't ruin this for Lewis—or for Will! Do you realize how difficult it would've been to find a place where we can be ourselves, plus a place for Will to practice his dives in peace?"

"You're right," Bella says. "I know you're right."

"This opportunity just fell into our laps. I know it was easy to apply to this university because Lewis is on good terms with the dean and everything. And it was very generous of him to let us all stay here—rent-free—while we're attending his university..."

"I know, Cleo. I'll watch myself..."

"Good—I know you're very trusting," Cleo says, "but things like us can't afford to be so trusting. What if Nöelle or someone from her family saw us? We'd be sold to the circus!"

"We're still people, Cleo..."

"No, Bella. We're not. Not anymore," Cleo says, and I force my ears to stop listening as I head downstairs.

As dinner went on later that night, all I could think about was escaping the midst of these Australian invaders and getting to the ocean. Well, that might sound a little mean—so far neither Lewis or Will had done anything negative towards me. And Bella seemed nice enough; maybe she or I would be able to sing together at some point in the future. And then there was Cleo, who, for some reason, seemed to hate my guts.

When everyone had seemed to finish their Cornish game hens, our glass dessert cups of vanilla pudding and raspberries were brought out for a grand finale by our very own cook. After thanking her with the rest of my family, I lifted the silver spoon and proceeded to eat slowly, not wanting to draw attention to myself. After this was all over, I would make like I was going to my room before leaving out the side door and heading directly around the bend of the guest house and hurrying through the woods and towards the lake.

"So, Lewis, you're into marine biology," my father says, "Will's a diver, Bella's a singer... And how about you, Cleo? What are you majoring in?"

"Mythology," she replies.

My mother looks intrigued. "So, will you be a writer, then?"

"I want to teach it, actually," she replies, smiling at my mother. "I adore children and truly believe they are our future, Mrs. Parker."

Damn, I think to myself, she's good. She was even nice to Edmund. Why in the hell doesn't she like me?! I think to myself inwardly.

"Oh, call me Larissa, dear," my mother says to her.

I could've gagged.

"Well, I already know that when Lewis reaches just third year of university, he'll be the marine biology teaching assistant for Mr. Petrov."

"Really?" Lewis asks, shocked.

"Of course—James Petrov is my closest friend."

"So that's why you named James after him!" Edmund says with his mouth full of raspberries and pudding, earning him a dirty look from my mother before he averts his eyes, ashamed.

"Petrov and I have spoken at length about you and your research, Lewis," my father informs him. "Petrov says that he's had his eye on you since the summer, and, if all goes according to plan and you succeed as much as he thinks you will, you will be hand-chosen as his successor, or he'll simply write you the best recommendation to any top-research facility in the world."

"Thank you, sir," Lewis says.

"Call me Demetri," my father replies.

"Thank you, Demetri," Lewis says, grinning.

The rest of the meal goes by smoothly, apart from Cleo's rather suspicious looks whenever Bella and I discuss our singing. Finally, we say goodnight to Bella, Cleo, Lewis, and Will, and they all troop to the guest house while Edmund heads to his miniature man cave in the basement to call his girlfriend, Nathalie. My father heads to his study to work on some upcoming announcements for the next school year, and my mother goes to her office on the opposite end of the house where she is making costumes for the fall play our school is putting on.

I am shocked when I am about to head upstairs when Bella makes an appearance in the kitchen, where I am poised by the staircase. I motion for her to come inside and she does, giving me a kind smile. We each remain silent for a moment, almost as if we're wondering who would like to speak first.

"Don't mind Cleo," she says after a moment.

I cross my arms, leaning against the banister of the staircase. "She seems to develop opinions quickly," I say quietly.

Bella sighs. "She means well," she assures me.

I shrug. "I guess I shouldn't just jump to conclusions like that. We all only just met and I can't expect her to just like me immediately."

"We don't have to talk about Cleo..."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, let's hear your voice," Bella offers.

I smile. "Come on," I say, motioning for her to follow me down the hallway from the kitchen and into the basement.

When James, Edmund, and I were kids, the massive basement was divided up into three sections—one for each of us. Each held a flat screen, a high-tech computer system, but that's where the similarities ended. James's was a workroom/game room, while Edmund's was devoted entirely to his love of video games. Plus, after dating Nathalie, it became every teenage boys' dream of a pre-love nest, and he believed he was a total chick magnet because of it.

Since James had moved out and married Helena, the basement had changed ever so slightly. Now, the two walls dividing the third room off from my space and Edmund's space had been knocked down. The room had then been measured by a top-of-the-line contractor, and the basement had been divided in half to ensure equality between my younger brother and me.

My own section of the basement housed the typical flat screen and high-tech, desktop computer station, while my personal laptop was kept in my bedroom. It also housed a karaoke station by the flat screen, and a sound booth, where me and my high school band, Aquatic Mayhem, had performed. The band had fallen to pieces just six weeks before graduation—on prom night, no less—when my boyfriend of three years, John Carew, had been caught in a compromising position with popular cheerleader type, Lucinda Merriweather.

"You've got a sound booth?" Bella asks, clearly impressed.

I nod. "Yeah. I had a band senior year."

"Really? What was it called?"

"Aquatic Mayhem," I reply, and Bella stares at me for a moment before I open the door and let her inside.

"This is really amazing," she says, stepping forward to the controls and gently running her hands along them. "Man, I'd kill for a set-up like this..."

I shrug. "Well, it is nice to have, I suppose, but I haven't sung since my prom night, to be honest. We were the booked band that night..."

Bella turns to look at me. "What happened?"

"Well, I was with this guy named John for three years. We'd planned on going to my dad's university in the fall together, and Dad said that he could move in here with me when we were eighteen. He also promised that if our grades were good and when I turned twenty-one, he'd buy us our first apartment..."

"And so?" Bella asks.

"Well, on prom night, I found him with another girl," I reply.

Bella raises her eyebrows. "Funny how some guys'll throw away a perfectly good relationship," she says.

I laugh at that. "You obviously think you're a good judge of character."

She smiles. "I have that gift, I guess." She wanders into the recording room itself and looks over the microphones. "Two?" she asks, looking up.

I nod. "Yeah—in case I ever want to jam with a friend."

Bella nods and walks over to the music stand where a half-written song is still waiting to be completed. "Something you wrote?"

"I wrote ninety-percent of our songs—the lyrics, anyway" I reply, remembering all the wonderful jamming sessions we, as a band, would end up having. "I was the lead singer and head lyric writer."

"And the other ten-percent?"

"Bobby Matthews, our lead guitarist would write the music and other lyrics."

"Where's Bobby now?" Bella asks.

"Bobby moved to New York to go to Julliard," I reply. "I respected his choice, because you can't turn that down."

"And your other band members?"

"Travis Harrison, our drummer, went to California—to UCLA—to study business because that was the only way he could go to college," I reply. "He had to get a degree his dad would approve of..."

"Is that everyone?"

"No, there was also Chastity Stevenson, our keyboard player, but she to study painting in Paris," I reply. "Chastity was my best friend, but after her mom got sick and passed away, she became really withdrawn. She and I were actually writing that song together before she left for Paris," I say, softly, picking up the piece of paper and humming the melody we came up with. "I think Bobby actually wrote the music out for me as a favor before he left. Should be saved in the hard-drive on the sound board..."

"I could turn it on, if you want," Bella says.

I nod. "Sure. We could sing it together, if you want," I say, nodding to the second overhead microphone.

"Will Chastity mind?"

I smile. "No, I doubt it."

"All right," Bella says. She crosses to shut the glass door of the whole sound booth so that we won't disturb anyone and crosses to the sound board. "How do I access the hard-drive?" she asks.

"Press the red button to turn it on and turn the dial right next to it to select your options," I reply, having taken many people through the system before. "You'll find hard-drive in the options. Then, when you do, press the green button. You'll see the titles and dates as options to sort by, and click date by pressing the same green button. Then, once you sort by date—newest first—it should be the first thing to pop up."

"Is it 'Pearls Beneath the Sea'?" Bella asks, reading the title.

I nod. "That's the one. We can record it, if you want. Just press the red button again after selecting the son."

She selects both buttons I've mentioned and a hard rock beat begins before she crosses back to the second microphone and puts the headphones on. We can mutually hear it in our ears, and I move the music stand in between us so as we can both read the words. I hold up my fingers, counting to three, and then pointing to her to start singing. "And when we lay awake at night, we always know where to look for you," we begin. "I never thought there's be a white knight for me, but I do know something true... You changed my life, just like water changed me. I'm changing through all the strife, just like pearls beneath the sea..."

"I thought the world was different, but then you came to call," I sing.

"And I thought my life would change, but you didn't change at all," Bella sang back to me.

"Was it the distance?" I continue.

"Was it the space?" Bella sings.

"Our life is all over the place!" we sing together.

"I thought you would rescue me, but it was all a lie," I continue onto the next verse of the piece.

"And I thought I'd be saved, but you didn't even try," Bella continues.

"But you came to me, all through the pain," I say, quieter now.

"You came back to me, under the cover of rain," Bella says, moving to mimic my quieter voice.

"I remember that we once spoke of pearls, and how they changed, even beneath the sea," I say.

"And I remember that we once spoke of the water, and how it always flows, and how you're changing me," Bella says.

"And when we lay awake at night, we always know where to look for you," we begin. "I never thought there's be a white knight for me, but I do know something true... You changed my life, just like water changed me. I'm changing through all the strife, just like pearls beneath the sea..." Bella and I finish together, just as the guitar solo overtakes the final thirty seconds, and we promptly hang up our headphones and move to listen to the song.

We walk carefully out of the sound booth and switch off the recording button, and I know full well that if this goes anywhere, I'll have to edit out the little bits of us walking at the end. I press the button to hear us sing, and our voices gently and melodiously mold together as the song goes on. The door opens behind us and Will and Lewis look shocked at the sounds coming from the sound board, and Cleo comes up behind them.

Oh, great, I think to myself. Trouble.

"What was that?" Cleo asks softly, as soon as our voices die down and fade into the guitar solo, followed by silence as the sound board switched off automatically before producing a disc for me to edit.

"A song that Nöelle wrote," Bella replies, smiling at me.

Cleo looks horrified, before pulling Bella to her side. "Bella, you're overtired—we should probably go to sleep now," she says, and hauls her out of there.

"Sorry," Lewis says, taking off after them.

"Goodnight," Will says awkwardly, before following Lewis. That did it—I officially couldn't take Cleo and her attitude anymore! I had to get out of there, and fast... I head up to my bedroom and change out of my dress and flats before putting on a pair of sandals, shorts, and a tank top. Then, I make my way out onto my balcony where I slip down the ladder I always had hidden nearby and jump to the ground before taking off. Running was second to the lake when it came to de-stressing methods for me, and I savored every step, using a small flashlight I almost always carried to see every rock or tree branch in my path as I hurried along the dirt-covered ground.

The late summer air was still warm, but there was a nip to it that hadn't been there only a few weeks ago. I nearly toppled to my feet as I ran, but couldn't take the distance anymore and broke into a full-fledged sprint. I made my way to the last clearing, just to where the trees parted and made way to the stone path which led down the short cliff and into the water. Just as I was about to break through there and get to the path, I heard a scream from below.

The sun was just beginning to set, and once you've cleared the woods, the light source arrived on site again, so I was able to see more clearly. I stepped to the edge of the cliff, where I saw a water tentacle wrapped around Cleo and Bella, but that was not the most shocking thing of the night. The thing that was would have to be how their golden tails caught the last of the light of day. My mouth drops open then, and I find I cannot speak, for half a moment.

"Bella! Cleo!" I shout.

Their eyes lock onto me, and fear is apparent.

"Forget it!" Cleo shouts, trying to struggle. "Forget about us and go home!"

"No, wait!" Bella begs. "The boys got distracted by video games... Please, Nöelle, help us!"

"Of course I'll help!" I shout back, and then, in that moment, I do what I think is the right thing to do.

I jump.

The transformation is instantaneous, and my own dark gold tail sprouts from my pair of legs faster than you can say, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" if you're so inclined. As soon as I manage to resurface, Cleo and Bella's eyes are wide with a combination of fear and shock. Immediately, I manipulate the water so that the tentacle disperses and I then turn it into fog so as any passing ships will be unable to see three mermaids in the water. Once Bella and Cleo are free, they proceed to move to the edge of the water, but I stop them.

"No, don't," I say. "Come with me." I then dive beneath the surface of the water and turn to see them following me. I speed through the water then, diving down deep and, just a moment later, arriving at the rock formation I always found myself going to. I feel Bella and Cleo behind me, so I continue through the mouth of the cave, and pop up in the stone-edged pool.

Cleo pops up first. "Thanks," she says.

I nod. "No problem," I reply.

Bella soon follows Cleo. "Wow, that was amazing," she says. Then, she peers into my face. "So, how long have you been like this?"

I smile; I hadn't met anyone like me before, so it would be interesting to share this strange story. "I was twelve," I reply.

"Twelve?" Cleo demands.

"How old were you?" I ask her.

She sighs. "Fifteen," she replies.

"Nine," Bella tells me.

"So, what happened?" Cleo asked, finally being civil to me.

I decide to allow her earlier treatment of me to wash away with the tide. "My parents...they're complicated," I say quietly. "They're the kind of parents that think if you get your child an expensive toy, then they'll be so preoccupied with said toy that they'll never need time with you."

Cleo sighs. "I'm sorry."

"Really sorry," Bella says.

I shake my head. "I'm used to it. So, anyhow, I was twelve and my parents were having a really big Christmas party. My brother James eighteen and was being scouted for a job already from top-ranked investment banking firms all over the country—so that's why he wasn't here tonight for dinner, and his wife had to go with him. Anyhow, James was getting all the attention from the men, and Edmund was showing off some of his Olympic swimming training in the backyard. My dad was trying to impress some colleagues—he was only the associate dean of the university then—and told me to sing. I didn't have my band yet so it was just me, and I'd only had informal singing lessons at that point..."

"What happened?" Cleo asked, concerned.

"Well, I sang... Let's just say that it was talent-show level good. A talent-show where one of your parents threatened to sue the school if you weren't included in the production..."

"That bad?" Bella asks.

I nod. "Yeah, pretty much. So, I got offstage and people applauded me, albeit reluctantly, because of how bad I was. I went to the buffet table to get a snack or something and the current dean of the university saw what I was doing. I was twelve, mind you, and he smacked me on the butt and said that I should watch the weight, unless I wouldn't meet a man. And then he said, 'With that voice, and you packing on the pounds, you'll never get anywhere'. I remember looking to my mother or father for some guidance or support..."

"What did they do?" Cleo wants to know.

"My father threw his arm around the dean's shoulders and laughed with him, and my mother pretended not to hear any of it," I say quietly.

"So, what did you do?" Bella asks.

"I ran out," I replied. "Nobody followed me. I ran through the woods, wanting to put as much distance between me and the house as possible. My dad always told me not to go into the woods because there were wild animals in there—he's since had them cleared and the animals moved to a sanctuary upstate. Anyhow, I was running through the woods and stopped at the water. I was looking down into it and I just felt so...calm, for the first time in a long time. Just as I was about to think about jumping in, I heard a twig snap behind me, and it was a bear. Before I could even think, I jumped into the water as the bear tried to grab me, and I dove right in and I swam as fast as I could. I've always been good at holding my breath under the water and I found this cave." I smile, recalling the memory. "I knew my parents would think that I went up to my bedroom, and I also knew that their friends wouldn't be leaving for a while. So, I just went into the cave and intended to hide out here, but..."

"You changed?" Cleo asked.

I nodded. "I changed. I remember climbing out of the water and onto the side and I stayed so long, I dried out. I soon found out that the only way to get out of the cave was so dive back down. The moon rose and came through from up there," I say, pointing to the hole in the top of the cave, "so I knew once it rose, I should at least try to get home. So, I got back into the water, and that's when I changed fully for the first time," I say, lifting my tail from the water and splashing it gently against its surface. "I was so excited, but I knew it would be dangerous to tell anyone, so I never did..."

"Not even John?" asked Bella.

"Not even John," I reply, "which got complicated during family vacations, but I was happy on ones that didn't involve the beach or ski trips..."

"Who's John?" Cleo wanted to know.

"My ex-boyfriend," I reply. "Three years, really serious. Bella can catch you up if you want to know..."

Cleo sighs. "I'm sorry how I treated you this afternoon and tonight," she tells me, smiling at me in a moment of kindness. "I'm not usually like that, but I'm very protective of Bella. She's..."

"Trusting," I say, flashing her a smile back. "I caught a bit of your conversation in the guest house."

"Normally, I'd be upset at someone spying on me," Cleo says, "but in this one situation, I'll allow it."

"Do Lewis and Will know?" I ask.

"Yes," Bella replies.

"Lewis does our research," Cleo replies.

"Oh, that's cool," I say.

"You don't get it," Bella says, looking at Cleo.

Cleo smiles at Bella before turning to me. "Lewis will want to talk to you about all of this. How soon can we...?"

"No problem," I say, hoisting myself out of the water and onto the ledge just above the pool. "Come on up."

"But, you said that there wasn't a way out..." Cleo begins.

"When I was twelve," I reply. "When I was fourteen, I told John that we should go down here to be alone. However, things didn't escalate for another year but then it became a nice place to um..." I trail off, meeting their eyes with a smile. "I refused to ever go swimming in here, though, and always managed to get out of it around him. I guess I just didn't want him to know..."

"So, John knocked out a space to climb through?" Bella asks.

"Yeah, but he's not allowed on the property anyone, and he's the only one who knows about it, so it's not like anyone's going to find us," I say.

Satisfied, Cleo rises herself up from the pool, Bella following. After a few minutes of drying off via the airwaves that came through the doorway, we all find ourselves in sandals, tank tops, and shorts before heading to the door. Making our way around the bed and up the stone path, I find my dropped flashlight in the darkness and even spot the old wooden case we used to keep our beach supplies in as kids on the other side of the stone path. I grab a bucket and fill it with water as we head through the woods and back towards the house. We reach the guest house and head inside immediately, and Bella motions that she's going to tell Will to stay and Cleo says she's going to ask Lewis to meet us upstairs. However, Will ends up coming upstairs as well, but I find I don't mind one bit.

"I suppose that you two should be privy to this as well," I say, showing Lewis and Will the bucket of water.

"What?" Lewis and Will say together, immediately moving to shield Cleo and Bella respectively, trying and failing not to be obvious.

"It's okay," Cleo tells Lewis.

"She knows," Bella says.

"Why?!" Lewis and Will demand.

I smile then, setting the bucket on the living room so as they all four can see what I'm about to do. I reach out my hand then and extend all my fingers, splaying them appropriately before jerking my wrist to the right. The water comes up effortlessly from the bucket, and hovers there for a moment before I push my hand in its direction and then it promptly turns into fog. I raise my eyes up to Lewis and Will then, and Lewis looks amazed, while Will looks shocked.

"How did you...?" Will asks.

"I have a tail," I reply.

"When did you...?" Lewis asks.

"I was twelve," I reply.

"Amazing," Lewis says. "The man I admire most in the world... And his daughter is a mermaid!" he breathes.

"A singing mermaid," Bella puts in.

"But she's not a siren, is she?" Will asks.

"No... I don't think so," Cleo says, peering at me.

"I have no interest in luring men to their deaths," I confirm.

"Good," Cleo says, smiling at me.

"Maybe we should discuss it," Bella says, looking over at Cleo.

Cleo gets to her feet and puts out her hand. "Nöelle Parker, I apologize for misjudging you and your friendly behavior towards Bella. Will you accept my apology as well as our friendship, and invitation to be one of us?"

"One of you?" I ask, looking at Bella, who grins. "I think I have nearly six years on that one," I joke, putting my hand in hers. "I accept."

"Great," Lewis says, getting to his feet, "because I've got a lot of questions that need to be answered."

I smile at him. "Let the marine games begin," I reply.


	2. Unanswered Questions

Chapter Two: Unanswered Questions

"First things first," Will says, perched upon the end of the two-person couch with Bella at his side. "Why did the water tentacle attack Bella?"

"And Cleo," Lewis puts in quickly. "Besides, the full moon isn't for a few weeks and there aren't any comets coming..."

"That's my fault," I say quietly.

Cleo looks shocked. "Your fault?"

"Now, hold on," Bella says. "Maybe there's a good explanation..."

I sigh, shaking my head. "I sort of manipulated the water into attack mode in case trespassers came invading the property, so to speak," I reply. "I was going out there tonight to get rid of the enchantment so that it wouldn't apply to you."

Cleo immediately turns to Bella. "You told her?"

"No!" Bella cries out. "I swear!"

"She didn't have to," I say quickly, feeling as if I was on trial when Cleo turned back to look at me. "I suspected it."

"Were we really that obvious?" Bella asks.

I shrug. "Mermaid thing," I say, shaking my head.

"But, the water..." Cleo says.

"Right," I say. "That. You both got there first and my gut-reaction was jumping in to stop the tentacle from hurting you guys."

"You can do that?" Will asks.

I nod. "Yeah," I reply. Turning, I walk into the kitchen and make my way towards one of the sinks on the island, and the rest of them move to follow me. Reaching out, I turn on the water and try to use my powers to manipulate it but, of course, it does nothing. "See? I can only manipulate enchanted water. We have our own private, freshwater spring nearby, that's not connected to the salt water. So, as you can see, my power is pretty unique." I turn off the faucet before turning back to them, hoping that my interrogation is over.

"Just one thing," Lewis says. "What happened to the tentacle after you dove in to stop it?"

"She stopped it," Cleo assures him.

"Quickly, too," Bella puts in.

"The water tentacles here react to my comfort level," I reply. "I've gotten them to trust me over time. When the water felt Cleo and Bella in it without me there, the water felt threatened because it had no way of knowing that I was okay with it. So, when I arrived and stopped it, it was able to see that we were on the same team and, in so doing, they're now safe to swim here."

"I've never heard of anything like that," Will breathed.

"You probably stumbled on a moon pool that was owned by the former residents of your father's house. Who was it?" Lewis asks.

"My great aunt and uncle raised their daughters here," I reply. "They all married high society husbands with their own estates, so they had no use for the house. It was when my great uncle, Frederick's, younger brother Andrew got married and had my father that they thought it was an opportune time to make up their will accordingly. So, that's how my father got the house..."

"Your father is Andrew's son?" Lewis asks.

"First and only," I reply. "He has two younger sisters—Felicity and Victoria—but Aunt Felicity lives in Florida for her painting job and Victoria lives in Sacramento working with their wildlife."

"Your family must be really traditional if they keep the estate in the male line, then," Cleo says.

I nod. "Extremely—from the moment James was born, Dad wrote in that James and his wife and kids would inherit the house upon his and Mom's deaths, or if they ever wanted to move into assisted living," I reply.

"What about if the son doesn't want the house?" Bella asks.

"Hopefully they have a son who does," I reply. "If James doesn't want the house, then it goes to Edmund."

"But where is Edmund supposed to go?" Will asks.

I laugh. "We have a smaller property on one of the San Juan Islands," I reply. "The second son always inherits that."

"But what do the daughters inherit?" Lewis asks, and then he turns and looks at the sink, which I am still standing beside. "Wait... What if the boys inherit the assets and money..."

"...and the girls inherit the ability to be mermaids?" Cleo asks, turning to Bella with an awestruck look on her face.

I immediately shake my head. "No, I don't think..."

"But, if it was, where would the information be?" Lewis asks.

I shrug. "I assume we have the lineage files somewhere..."

"Where do you keep your files?" Bella asks. "Like, of old deeds or maybe something having to do with your family?"

"Dad used to keep all of them in his study, before he became so preoccupied with the school," I reply. "But we now keep them..." I feel my jaw drop open. "We keep them in the pool house!" I reply, and dash out the main door and down the stairs and outside.

I make my way around the guest house—Cleo, Bella, Lewis, and Will at my heels—and make my way around the pool carefully. I'd always been a notorious klutz, and one false move could send me flying with a big splash, and potentially letting Cleo and Bella's secret out as well. I ran the rest of the way to the pool house and throw the door open, walking through the luxury, Better Homes and Gardens approved living room before making my way down the first hallway, which led past the first bathroom and into the alternative office space our property boasted. I immediately went to one of the file cabinets and threw open the top drawer, and proceeded to dig through the files, while Cleo, Bella, Lewis, and Will dug through the files of the other cabinets.

"Here!" Bella cries after a moment, digging through what must have been the sixth filing cabinet, and comes out with what appears to be a coffee-stained file folder, with a sticker-tag reading PARKER FAMILY RECORDS 1900-2000. "Wow, your family really does go far back," she says.

"There's one here from the 1600's," Cleo says, peering into the way back of the file cabinet.

"Yeah, we were passengers on the Mayflower," I reply, watching as Will, Lewis, and Cleo grab the rest of the folders. I quickly make sure that everything is put back to where it once was, which is when I see it, buried in the back of the cabinet I'd chosen. "Hold on," I say, staring at the bottom of the file cabinet.

"What is it?" Lewis asks, stepping forward.

I jiggle the file cabinet, and the bottom rattles severely. "It's a fake bottom," I say and immediately move the file folders from the drawer of the thing, and pull up the plank of wood that had been there. Setting that aside, I find other files that someone wanted to keep hidden for generations to come. Opening some of the folders, I see our Parker family genealogy traced back to when we were Anglo-Saxon knights in England, and then there is something that takes my breath away completely. "Oh, my god," I say quietly.

"What?" Cleo asks.

I raise my eyes to theirs, and shake my head. "I couldn't explain it before, but now I think I can..."

"What?" Will asks.

"Bella, remember how standoffish Cleo was when you first got here—no offense, Cleo," I say quickly.

"None taken," Cleo replies. "I was."

"Yeah, I remember," Bella replies.

"Well, you were really nice to me," I say.

Bella blinks. "Yeah, I guess I was... But what does that have to do with anything? I thought I always was nice..."

"She is," Will puts in, and Cleo, Lewis, and I all roll our eyes.

I shake my head. "I couldn't explain it, Bella, but did you feel something... I don't know, underlying, when we were singing?"

"Not a siren song, right?" Lewis asks.

"Lewis, you heard the song!" Cleo says impatiently.

"Right," Lewis says, taking the file folder from me and looking it over.

"This might explain a few things," I say, and hand over the paperwork. "I know it's a common surname, but..."

"Hartley," Bella whispers, looking over the documents. "Descended from Anglo-Saxon knights... My family moved to New Zealand in the 1950's before my dad was born. Then we moved to Ireland before his job, and that where I changed when I found those sea caves..."

"There's portraits, too," I reply, handing them over. "And a few old photographs dating from the 1800's or so..." Bella takes one from me and gasps, her eyes pouring over every detail of the exceptionally old photograph. "That's my Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather, John Hartley... But who is he standing with?" Bella asks, shaking her head. "I don't know them..."

I bend down to read the back of the photograph. "That's... Richard Parker, his half-brother," I reply, returning to my usual position. "Oh, my god... That means that Bella and I are..."

"Related!" Bella breathes. "So... We're cousins of some sort..."

"I don't have any cousins," I reply. "My mother was an only child, and my father's sisters never had children."

"We don't see my family much," Bella replies, "so even if I did have cousins, I don't know them."

"Look at this," Lewis says then, and we turn to see him staring into the file folder he'd taken from me and regarding some old photographs. "Olga, Anne, and Rose Parker—three sisters, dated 1840," he says, showing us all the photograph. "I assume they're related to you somehow, Nöelle," he says.

"Rose, the youngest, was my father's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother," I reply. "Olga and Anne only had daughters, so the estates were passed onto my father's line."

"Looks like Rose had a few kids, too," Will says, looking over a family tree from the file folder. "So, while Rose's family moved over here eventually, Bella's family broke off from all this and went to New Zealand..."

"This is too crazy," I say shaking my head.

"Hey, all in the family," Bella replies.

The next few weeks before school were taken up with Cleo, Bella, and I getting used to one another in our mermaid forms. It was a bit uncomfortable for me to transform in front of Lewis and Will at first, but soon we were all close friends and it didn't matter to me much. Lewis and Will were very patient with me, especially after Bella and Cleo gave them the short version about what had happened between me and John, and they were careful not to make disheartening comments about any of it. The time was also taken up with Lewis testing my powers, as well as Bella, Cleo, and I combining our powers for defense purposes.

Finally, on the last Monday in September, Bella, Cleo, Lewis, Will, and I were all due to start school. Lewis left before seven to get to the lab straightaway, while the rest of us didn't have class until ten. By the time we all got out of bed and dressed, it was after eight and we were ready for breakfast. I noticed that Edmund's girlfriend, Nathalie, was over that morning to carpool, yet I was pleased when my mother announced that I was to take Cleo, Bella, and Will to school with me, and she would handle Edmund and Nathalie.

After a quick breakfast of smoothies, scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns, we all of us immediately brushed our teeth again, while Cleo, Bella and I fixed our hair before heading out. We walked up to the garage where I pressed my own personal remote for it, unveiling my silver 2010 convertible BMW 3. Will looked appreciative of my car, while Bella and Cleo gave me plenty of compliments on it as we all piled in. Bella and Will climbed into the back, holding hands, while Cleo got into the passenger seat next to me. I pulled out of the garage, closed it behind us, and made my way down the drive and out onto the side road which led us to the main road; we only lived about ten minutes away from campus.

Once we arrived and I put my parking permit in place, we got out of the car and headed to the front office, where we would be presented with our schedules. I'd done a hybrid program while in high school, so I'd knocked the first two years of college off my education plan already; while I was starting college officially that day, I was considered a junior. As we walked into the office, I showed where Cleo, Bella, and Will could get their new student I.D.'s taken care of, as they would need them to get their schedules. I waited for the pictures to be snapped, the mandatory ten dollars to be exchanged, and for their now-officialness to the school.

I walked up to the desk first to show them how to properly get the paperwork for incoming students. "Nöelle Parker," I say, handing over my I.D.

"Hello again, Miss Parker," says Julie Daniels, the secretary as she sifts through her paperwork. "Good to see you again—I hope you had a good summer."

I smile at her. "Thank you, Mrs. Daniels—I did, thank you. I hope you and Mr. Daniels and your kids had a good time."

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Daniels says before finding my schedule and handing it over. "Enjoy. See you soon," she says before peering around me as I step back. "I can take the next person now."

Cleo steps up next. "Cleo Sertori," she says.

Once they've all gotten their paperwork, we look through the folders to check out everything the welcome wagon gives us. There was, of course, our schedule; a map of the school; a packet about upcoming welcome mixers and other student events —some of which would be hosted on campus and some others which would be hosted at my house—information if you wanted to pledge a fraternity or a sorority, and information about activities the school offered. Once we'd finished reading all the literature they'd given us, it was time to announce what our classes were going to be.

"Organic chemistry, biochemistry, marine biology, statistics, psychology, genetics, social sciences, and French," Cleo says. "I'm taking the first four for half the year, and the second half after what you call mid-winter break."

Bella goes next. "Poetry, jazz club, choir, creative writing, calculus, French, and marine biology," she tells us.

"Swimming and diving, college preparatory writing, speech writing, marine biology, world history, and French," Will says.

"Poetry, jazz club, choir, creative writing, statistics, French, and marine biology," I say, relieved. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

"Do all American guys look like that?" Cleo asks, nodding behind me, and Bella peers around me to look.

"Good eye, Cleo—better not let Lewis hear you say that, though," she puts in, and Will rolls his eyes as he turns halfway to see what they're staring at.

"If you're into that sort of thing, maybe he's got something," Will allows.

"What are you all looking at?" I ask, turning, and my jaw drops as I see the person speaking to Mrs. Daniels.

"Thank you, I did have a wonderful summer in Europe," he says.

"What did you do?" Mrs. Daniels asks him.

"Took some courses in Italy, actually," he replies, smiling at her.

"They don't call it a romance country for nothing," Mrs. Daniels tells him. "Did you meet anyone over there?"

He shakes his head. "No. No, I messed up really bad with my ex-girlfriend and I don't know if I'm ever going to get over that."

Turning around, I feel myself hyperventilating at what I'm hearing. I find I am shaking at his declaration, and I feel Bella, Cleo, and Will staring at me in a moment of confusion. "That's John," I whisper.

"John? Okay," Will says, about to hand Bella his paperwork.

"Whoa, whoa!" Bella says.

"What are you thinking?!" Cleo hisses under her breath.

"Nöelle's our friend!" Will hisses back. "And that low-life hurt her, so now I'm going to hurt him!"

"No," I say, reaching out and grabbing Will. "It's fine. Let's just go, okay? I can show you around campus."

"Nöelle?" John says, catching my voice and coming up to me. "Wow, it's been a while! How are you?"

I shake my head, forcing a smile. "Fine," I say, trying my best not to speak through my teeth. "How are you, John?"

"I've been better," he replies. "Listen, I'm not happy with how things went down, Nöelle, really. If we could get together and talk..."

"No," I say quickly. "We don't need to talk."

John looks hurt, and takes ahold of my arm. "Come on, Nöelle, please. I did a lot of thinking while I was in Europe and I'd like to sort things out."

"If by 'sort things out' you mean 'work things out' then I'm not interested," I say to him, ripping my arm away from him. I walk out the main double doors then and into the sunshine, trying to get away from him.

"Nöelle, please!" John says, desperation at the back of his voice.

I turn to him then; I fully intended to let him have it, although I'd forgotten about my ex-boyfriends' nervous habit. When we were together, he always, always had to have a water bottle on hand, but we were able to make it work without him ever getting it on me. However, this time, I wasn't as careful and, as I turned, the cap came off the water completely, and the water spilled down my front.

"Oh, god, sorry!" John says quickly. "Let me go get some towels..."

I shake my head, pushing past him immediately. "Don't worry about it," I say to him, running as fast as I could.

Thankfully, the university hugged the coastline—the very same coastline that my family's home did—and I was able to look around and make sure nobody was looking. I dashed down the back staircase, and along the path, before dashing on the grass. I threw my stuff down like there was no tomorrow and jumped head-first into the water, growing my tail upon contact. I instantly sank to the bottom of the water, lying upon its bottom and screaming beneath the surface, the bubbles which escaped my mouth full of my sorrows.

I felt something near me then, and, opening my eyes, I saw John, who had dived into the water after me. My eyes popped, and my first move was to swim away from him as quickly as possible, but I found I was frozen in place. I didn't know where my tears ended and the water began, but all I did know was that my secret was out and, if I wasn't careful, I'd get a one-way ticket to a circus. I watched as John pointed to the surface—while breathing underwater wasn't an issue for me, it wasn't for him; no matter what John had done, I didn't want him dead.

I go up to the surface with him, and thankfully, he paddles over to some rocks to sit, allowing himself to dry off on one while I come up beside him. Looking towards shore, the only people around are Cleo, Bella, Will, and now Lewis, who comes running from the science department. I stretch half my body onto the rock, allowing my tail to slap the surface of the water, driving the point home to John that it was connected to me.

"I would say I'm sorry for not telling you, but that wouldn't be true," I say.

John hesitates, mulling over my statement, all the while catching glances at my tail, just beneath the surface of the water. "Just tell me why you didn't tell me," he says quietly. "We were together almost four years..."

"Probably because I never trusted you completely," I reply.

John fixes me with a look. "Explain, please," he says.

"Well, after three and a half years, the first opportunity you get to make out with Lucinda, you did!" I say, narrowing my eyes at him. "You know how much she wanted you, John! Why didn't you admit to it?"

"I admitted that I knew she was interested in me—you know that," John said. "I know you remember our conversations about it. I also think you remember how I always told you how she wasn't my type!"

I shake my head. "Lucinda? Come on! She was thin and blonde and gorgeous! And then there's me..."

"What's wrong with the way you look?" John demands.

I look away. "You know the answer to that," I reply, hauling myself out of the water and next to him, crossing my fingers that the breeze will dry me and that I won't be seen.

John shakes his head. "So you're curvy and have brown hair," he replies, reaching out and tilting my chin up. "You're as beautiful as you were the day I met you! I was in love with you!"

I pull away from him. "You said 'was', so clearly you don't have any romantic inclinations for me anymore," I say. The wind kicks up, and my scales begin to dry completely; hopefully, I'll be able to scale the rocks and get on land without getting wet again.

"And why does it sound like you want me to?" John asks.

I run my hands through my hair, still wet from jumping head-first into the water. "I just don't appreciate how you let me down," I reply. "I worked so hard rehearsing with the band, and I wrote a song about us," I say to him, and inwardly curse myself for my shaking voice. "And then I hear you're not even there to listen to it, and, instead, you went into one of the back hallways to make out with Lucinda, who you know hated me..."

John pounds his fist into the rock in frustration. "Dammit—who told you that?" he asks, clearly hurt.

I gasp at his hand. "You're bleeding!" I cry out.

He shakes his head. "Doesn't matter," he replies, looking at me full in the face and trying not to wince from the gash. "Who told you that I went into one of the back hallways to make out with Lucinda?"

"Whitney Meadows," I reply.

"Whitney is Lucinda's best friend," John says, impatient. "Now, be honest with me, Nöelle, whose best interest does Whitney have at heart?"

"What?" I demand.

"Where does Whitney's loyalty lie? With me—the guy her best friend has been mooning over forever—or with her best friend, Lucinda?"

"Obviously, Whitney's loyalty would've been to Lucinda," I reply. "But that doesn't excuse what I walked in on..."

"I don't dispute that," John replies. "But what I do dispute is that you wouldn't let me explain..."

"Of course I wouldn't!" I cry out. "I wouldn't let you explain because you cheated on me!"

"That's not how it happened," John said, wincing again as wind contacted with his bleeding hand. "Yeah, I was drinking—I'd be stupid not to admit that," he says, and shakes his head. "Some of the guys snuck in booze. We were graduating in just a few weeks, and I wanted to one thing reckless, so I thought getting blitzed in the school hallway was a good idea."

I give him a look.

"Well, maybe not," he replies. "Anyhow, Lucinda came back there and saw us drinking and threatened to rat us out."

I roll my eyes. "Jeez, big surprise there..."

"Not really, no. So, I told Lucinda not to, and then some of the guys offered her some beer in exchange for her silence, which she took. So, we're drinking and then she tells me that she's always been into me. I told her I knew but that I was with you and nothing was going to change that. Then, she told me that she told Whitney that she was coming out here, and told Whitney to tell you..."

"Excuse me?" I demand.

"That's what I said," John replied. "So, I told her to stop making a fool of herself and that's when I saw you coming. Lucinda must've thought something was happening because she grabbed me and kissed me. I tried to get away, and when I did, you were just walking away and crying..."

I shake my head, when a final gust of wind comes, and my tail disappears completely and I'm left sitting on the rock, human again. "That is quite a story there, John," I say quietly.

"It's true," he assures me. "Every word."

I lock eyes with him. "That may be so, John, but I don't care. I'm not prepared to forgive you yet," I say, getting to my feet.

John grabs my hand, and I curse myself for shaking at the familiarity of his touch upon my skin. "I just want you to know that I won't say anything."

I nod. "Good. Keep it that way," I reply, walking off.

The highlight of the beginning of any school year for most students was a fall ball or homecoming dance of some kind. However, at my house, I would throw a blow-out Halloween party every year; now that Edmund and Nathalie were in high school, they were invited and permitted to bring a few guests as well. I was just happy that Cleo, Bella, Lewis, and Will had agreed to come and had seemed to show support in my platonic invitation of John.

What I hadn't counted on was Lucinda and Whitney showing up, dressed up as a pair of slutty cats. I did my best to play gracious host, blatantly ignoring the fact that they'd successfully destroyed my relationship. It was great that my father had surprised me with a DJ, whose repertoire mainly consisted of classics from the 1980's. As Hot Blooded by Foreigner pumped in the speakers, my jaw dropped when John showed up, dressed as a prince.

I was peeking out at the party from the top of the stairs, reluctant to come down in my costume. However, I finally forced myself to come down the stairs, my yellow ballgown a dead giveaway as to what I was, however, I'd spiced it up with a mask so as to dissuade people from knowing my identity. I walked down the stairs completely, meeting John as he hesitated in the foyer.

"The party's hopping," I say, hoping he can hear me.

He nods. "Looks that way. Great DJ; was the light show your idea?"

"No," I shake my head. "My dad insisted."

Lucinda spots John through the crowd and immediately steps forward, pulling at his hands. "Come on, John!" she whines. "I got all pretty tonight so that you'd pay attention to me!"

She's honest, I'll give her that, I think to myself. "Go," I say to John. "Go and enjoy the party."

"Nöelle..."

"No." I shake my head. "It's fine. Go on." I watch as Lucinda successfully gets him into the center of the dance floor, and drift off to the side, where Bella is staring up at the stage. "You all right?" I ask her.

She turns to me and smiles. "Oh, yeah."

"Sure?"

She sighs. "Well, my parents have to leave Australia," she replies. "My dad's hotel management job has them moving all over the country, sometimes on short notice, and it's terrible."

"When are they going?" I ask.

"After Christmas," Bella replies. "So, when we all go back there during the holidays, I have to pack up my stuff and give some away."

I sigh. "I'm sorry," I say, sympathizing despite the fact that I'd lived in one house my entire life. "Where do they go?"

"Back to Ireland, actually, where it all started," Bella replies. She looks as if she will tell me more, but she goes off to dance with Will.

I watch the party for a while, but find myself with the feeling of the outside looking in, and I wanted to do something about it. Making my way on stage, I asked the DJ if he had a karaoke setting on his system, which he did. I decided to go with the 1980's theme that had been going on. Within a minute, Laura Branigan's Gloria filled the party speakers, and I find myself emulating my performance after her, and I found myself at peace. I hadn't performed in public like this since prom night, and it was wonderful to be behind a microphone again, and I found that I was missing it wholeheartedly.

Once the song had ended, I took off my mask, and I was shocked that some of my guests were shocked that it was me. Wanting to go a bit more obvious with the point I was trying to make, I decided to go big or go home—especially since it seemed like everyone was clamoring for me to do an encore. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned back to the DJ, who was more than willing to help me out. I told him the same of the song, and it was on.

The guitar intro got everyone geared up for the country pop magic that was Taylor Swift, and I counted the beats before singing. I locked eyes with John for the chorus, something that wasn't lost on Lucinda, who looked like I'd interrupted her wedding night or something. Sure, You Belong with Me is an incredible piece of song writing, but it had an underlying meaning behind it, too.

In the weeks since John discovered my secret, he had been attentive to me without smothering me completely. He and I were on speaking terms, and he had even become fast friends with Lewis and Will, especially after I'd told Cleo and Bella that the reason behind our breakup was because of a misunderstanding. John told me that he'd gone to Europe over the summer to do some other course work to qualify as a junior as well, because he wanted to be the same year that I was in school. He said, bottom line, even if we weren't together anymore, that he did want to stay friends with me.

But as the weeks drifted by, and as our weekend study sessions in the guest house grew later and later, longer and longer, I found that I missed John. After I'd verified with his other buddies from high school—Rex Michaelson, Donovan Chesterfield, and Clarence Braddock—that they witnessed the whole thing (as well as the camera footage from that night which had been a few weeks' allowance, but had been worth it) everything checked out. I'd walk John out every night, and it had gotten to the hugging stage, something we were both comfortable with, yet I did find that I wanted more—I wanted him back.

However, as the last chorus drowned out, Lucinda made a grab for John and kissed him, and it was prom night all over again. I found my face contorting in horror, and saw Lewis and Will, as well as Cleo and Bella, looking on in shock. I lost control of the microphone and left the stage, running as fast as I could to the back door, and out into the cool, autumn darkness. Without a reliable light source, it wasn't very easy to find my way through the trees. Only the quarter moon leaking through the trees was what I had to go on, and as I ran, I ignored the tears which blinded my vision, and the fact that I could hear footsteps behind me.

I stopped at the edge of the cliff before taking off down the path and hesitating at the edge of the water, before turning around. I felt the tears on my cheeks as I saw that it was John, and wondered how long I had. "You don't have to explain anything to me," I say. "It's not like we're together..."

"No, we're not," John says, stepping forward and taking my hands, "but that's something that we both want, isn't it?"

I shake my head. "Lucinda won't like it..."

"She's only home for the weekend," John assures me. "She goes back to Arizona State in the morning."

I peek up at him, and bite my lip. "John..."

"Yeah, Nöelle?"

I force myself not to laugh; he always made questions sound like statements, and it was one of the things I missed about him the most. "I... I want you to come swimming with me," I say quietly.

"You'll ruin your dress..."

I reach behind and quickly untie the laces, before taking it up the beach and lying it flat upon the bank. I kick off the slippers next, and see that John is getting out of his costume as well. I await him at the edge of the water, finding his hand in the darkness. "Wait..."

"What?" he asks, not impatiently.

I turn to him then, standing on my toes and kissing him. "I want to say something like, 'After this there's no turning back', but that would be cliché."

John chuckles. "Nothing about this, I assure you, is cliché." He puts his arms around me, and says softly, "I can't tell you how long I've wanted this... You in my arms again..."

I shuffle from foot to foot, managing to avoid the currant so as this moment will last as long as possible. "I want to go to the cave..."

John hesitates. "Are you sure?"

I pull him against me. "Yes," I reply. "I can't lose you again—not again. All I want now is an honest, loving, relationship."

"Which means?" John asks.

"No secrets," I reply.

John pulls me closer, warmth against the coolness of the night. "No secrets," he assures me, and I pull him into the water behind me.


	3. Now or Never

Chapter Three: Now or Never

"So, that's it," I say to Bella and Cleo the following afternoon as we lie in the moon pool inside the cave. "John and I are back together after I successfully proved that it was all on Lucinda—the kiss, I mean. John admits that the drinking was all on him, and he's apologized for the stupidity of it all. Thankfully, we took a limo to prom," I say ruefully.

"You sure you can trust him?" Cleo asks.

"Don't be like that, Cleo," Bella admonishes her. "You yourself got back together with Lewis right after he ended things with Charlotte—Rikki told me everything, trust me."

"Who's Charlotte?" I ask, having already known about Rikki and Emma, their best friends from Australia.

Cleo makes a face. "Charlotte Watsford was this new girl who moved to town and she pretty much stole Lewis from me," she mutters.

"For the record—Rikki's record—you two were supposedly taking a break at the time," Bella puts in.

Cleo rolls her eyes. "Doesn't matter—what does matter is that Charlotte lost her powers and Lewis chose me."

"Powers?" I demand, shocked. "Charlotte was a mermaid, too?!"

Cleo sighs, rubbing her temples. "Yes. Charlotte moved to town—she was an artist and seemed really introverted and nice. But she started liking Lewis right away and showed an unhealthy interest in Mako Island. We later found out that her deceased grandmother lived in our town and was a mermaid herself. Charlotte got it in her head that it was her birthright, and that Emma, Rikki, and I weren't deserving of our tails or powers. She got both, Charlotte did, and ended up getting all our powers threefold. Finally, however, karma caught up to her and the three of us were able to defeat her."

I smile ruefully. "And what happened to her?" I ask.

"No idea," Cleo replies. "She moved just before Emma went to travel the world with her family. I think she moved to Sydney, but I'm not sure."

"Good riddance," I say, shaking my head and turning onto my back. I peer up at the sky, and it was a lovely, cloudless day in the last week of October. "I'm sure Lewis will want to keep us under lock and key starting this weekend..."

"Oh, yeah," Bella says, concern in her voice. "Full moon—what do you usually do for that?" she asks.

"Honestly?" I ask, returning to my stomach. "I usually just stay in the basement all night—my parents put a lot of pressure on me and my education, as well as my extracurricular activities. I took so many online classes throughout high school that if I just wanted to be alone to focus on that, they wouldn't bother me. It got a little tricky with John, though, especially after he and I go close," I say, putting emphasis on the word so as they know what I'm talking about. "I mean, some weekends he wanted me to be over at his house, and usually three weekends out of the month, I could."

"Your parents let you?" Cleo demands.

I nod. "Yeah—we were both getting A's in our classes, plus they made me start birth control when I was sixteen. So..." I shrug. "Plus, they love John's family a lot, so that helps." I sink a little deeper in the water. "I don't know—maybe I'm misjudging this. Do you think I was too forgiving?"

"Of course not," Bella says quickly.

"You covered your bases and if you're sure, we're with you," Cleo replies, in a more reserved tone, but flashes me a smile nonetheless.

I reach my hand above the water, causing it to bubble beneath my fingers, and smile to myself. "It's just nice to have people to talk to about all this. I mean, honestly, nobody knew. It was...really lonely, for a long time."

Bella reaches out and puts an arm around me. "Well, as long as Cleo and I can be, we're here for you."

"Always," Cleo assures me.

"Nöelle?" calls a voice from the tunnel nearby.

"John?!" I say, and turn to Cleo and Bella, who look like they would swim away at any moment. "Wait..." I say, and lifting my hand, causing the water bubbles to cease and to rise into the air, where a thick mist forms around me, shielding the two of them from view as John enters the cave. "Hi," I say, feeling a flush happen along my cheeks as he comes to sit beside the water.

"Hey," he says, leaning down to kiss me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him.

John looks confused. "I can't just come over to see my girlfriend whenever I want to?" he asks.

I bite my lip. "I don't know—it just may look weird, you know? I mean, nobody knows we're back together except Cleo, Bella, Will, and Lewis," I say.

"Remember, Nöelle, we were friends before we got together. There's no reason for your family not to think we're still friends now."

"Yeah, they really don't pay attention to much of anything," I mutter.

John leans forward, putting his forehead against mine. "Remember what we used to say?"

"What?"

"About our kids," he says, flashing me that perfect smile that I'd fallen in love with. "The thing we used to say about our kids, and how if we ever had them, we would make them top priority no matter what."

I sigh, moving slightly away from him. "John, I just want you to understand completely that we can't just pick up where we left off before you and Lucinda kissed," I say quietly.

He nods. "I know that. Three months we were away from each other."

I return his nod. "You're right. And I was just starting to cope with the fact that you and Lucinda may have begun dating or something." I hesitate, not wanting to hurt him, but we'd promised no secrets between us.

"I could never date Lucinda," John replies steadily. "She's everything you're not, I just want you to know that."

"She's beautiful..."

"You're beautiful, too," he replies.

"I couldn't sing since that night—since prom," I tell him quietly. "I didn't sing until Bella and Cleo and the guys showed up from Australia. Bella sings too, so she could understand and sympathize with what happened. And then the band broke up because life happened for everyone, and I was alone—none of them are coming back, John."

"None of them?" he asks, concerned.

I shake my head. "None of them," I reply. "I was alone until these new people came into my life, and I'm not blaming you for it, but it still hurts."

John smiles, kissing my forehead. "I know—I understand," he replies. "We could have communicated better with one another as a whole. I mean, you know my parents don't care what I do either—probably why our families get along so much, due to their same philosophies on parenting. I don't know; I could give you a whole plethora of reasons behind me kissing Lucinda, but the honest fact is that I was drunk, Nöelle—you know this. I would never cheat on you; you know that I really care about you."

I nod. "I know that, John, really."

John looks up then and sees all the fog surrounding me. "Does the temperature tend to fluctuate in here?" he asks, shaking his head. "I don't remember ever seeing fog in here before..."

I sigh, knowing that if this whole "no secrets" thing was going to work, I may as well hold up my end of the deal. "Maybe I should've been clearer..."

"What do you...?" John asks, locking eyes with mine. "You can make fog?" he asks, clearly shocked.

I feel Cleo and Bella nudge my tail behind me, letting me know that they're going to swim back to the mainland and that John and I can be alone. As soon as I feel them swimming away, I lift my hand and allow the fog to grow thicker around us, and John is clearly impressed. "That's amazing," he whispers in awe.

"When I went through my family records, I found out that there could've been other mermaids in my family, and we all have a power or two that relates to the water somehow..."

"Fascinating," John breathes. "Do you just make fog, or...?"

I lift my hand, permitting the fog to dissipate before I lift my hand, which I've flattened, over the surface of the water. I manage to form it into a shape, and then lift the shape into the air, forming what appears to be some kind of crystal, which leaves John speechless. I then gently push it towards John's forehead; when he and I had first been together, he would get headaches all the time, and they would plague him to no end. I gently pushed the crystal onto his head, and he shut his eyes once it contacted with his skin and was absorbed into it, and I felt very proud of myself.

"Amazing," John breathes. "My headache's gone..."

I put out my lips in a mock-pout. "You're not saying I'm giving you a headache, are you?" I ask, something I'd always ask him.

John leaned forward then and gently took me by the shoulders, pulling me towards him as he leaned down to kiss me again. "Never," he replies.

I feel myself chuckling against his lips. "Well, maybe I should get out of here," I tell him, managing to haul myself up onto the side, beside John. "That's better," I say, and manage to arrange myself so as the tail isn't pulling at my back. "Once I'm dry, we can get out of here."

John grins, and reaches out, curious.

"You can touch it," I reply. "It won't bite."

He reaches forward then, running his hands up and down the scales that are my tail. "Amazing," he whispers.

For our first full moon together, Lewis takes charge of all of us, which proves to be quite an interesting night. Since we're all going to be together, and since he knows about me, I'd taken it upon myself to invite John over to spend the evening with me as well. I was going to show him some of what I'd been working on in my studio, but after my new Aussie friends had a meeting about the whole thing, they agreed that—since it was my guest house when things came right down to it—it would be only fair if John joined us, too. John brought over some snacks and didn't bat an eye as Lewis and Will got to work at stapling pieces of fabric onto the various windows of the guest house to keep the moonlight out.

"Really committing friends," he observed with a kind smile, bringing the snacks into the kitchen and setting them down. "I got your favorite pretzels."

"The chocolate-covered M & M ones?" I cry out, running into the kitchen like there was no tomorrow. "I've been dying for these..."

He takes them out of the shopping bag and hands them over. "I hope you don't mind, they only had them in bulk. If that's not cool, then I can..."

I drop the tin unceremoniously onto the counter and throw my arms around his neck, kissing him. "Thank you," I reply, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "You didn't have to do that..."

John's arms snake around my waist. "Something tells me I've been rewarded in a justifiable manner for my selflessness," he replies.

I blush and lower my eyes. "Well, it just means a lot that you can be here for me tonight. Full moons are...complicated for mermaids."

"Hey, whatever it takes to keep you away from its light and water for the rest of the night, I'll be here for you," John replies.

"All right, lovebirds," Lewis says, snaking between us and getting a good look at the bounty John has brought. "Cheesy Puffs?" he asks, getting a good look at the party-size bag of Cheetos.

"That's what they call them in Australia?" John asks. "What else do you say that we don't?"

"We say 'mate' instead of 'friend'," Will says, coming into the room, one arm around Bella. "Lots of stuff, really."

"And what you call 'prom', we call 'formal'," Bella says patiently as Cleo pads into the room, saddling up next to Lewis between the fridge and the upper cabinets on the opposite wall from us.

"And you can drink at eighteen instead of twenty-one," Cleo says, turning to John with a skeptical look in her eyes.

I feel my fingers twitching ever so slightly, wanting to form a soft crystal to clobber her momentarily, but decide against it. "Very funny," I scoff. "So, what do you guys want to do?"

"You into video games, John?" Will asks casually.

"Yeah, actually Nöelle said you guys were, too," John replies, digging into his bag and turning around. "I actually just picked up the latest Mass Effect at the game store today."

"We haven't got that one yet!" Lewis says, stepping forward and taking the case, looking it over like a kid in a candy store.

"Should we pop it in?" Will asks, joining the trio.

"Yes, but downstairs," Bella says firmly, moving to stand next to me.

"Right," Cleo says, moving to my other side. "Us girls want you boys to have your fun, but we want to have fun, too."

"Noted," Lewis says, kissing Cleo on the cheek and making a run for the basement door like there was no tomorrow.

"See you," Will says, kissing Bella on the cheek and following Lewis.

"Sorry about this," John says, grabbing me and kissing me on the lips.

"Don't be—if there's more where that came from," I reply.

John grins. "Always," he replies, running after his new friends.

"What do we do now?" Bella asks.

Cleo turns to me. "Yeah—now that your boyfriend has run off and taken ours with him, what shall we do then, Nöelle?"

"Never fear," I reply, pulling them into the living room. "I've got Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Dirty Dancing, Bridget Jones's Diary, She's the Man, 13 Going on 30, Never Been Kissed, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding to tide us over until the boys come to their senses."

"13 Going on 30?" Bella asks, picking up the Blu-Ray case and looking it over. "I know I've seen this before, but the title is wrong..."

"How could the title be wrong?" I ask, looking at it over her shoulder. "I saw it in the theater when it first came out, and all the posters said..."

"Googling," Cleo interrupts, her phone already glued to her hands as she looks over the results. "Ah. Here we are..."

"What?" Bella asks.

"Apparently, that's the American title," Cleo says.

"What's the Australian title, then?" I want to know.

"Suddenly 30, right?" Bella asks.

Cleo nods. "Right," she replies.

We had caterers in and out of our house during major holidays, notably during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, where elaborate meals were served in our banquet hall dining room. For New Year's, my mother and father would go to parties at colleagues' houses, and then complain upon their homecoming about how much better a spread they could've put together. For Valentine's Day, my parents would scour the gourmet magazines of the surrounding cities for weeks on end before finally deciding on where they would go for dinner. For Mother's and Father's Day, we kids would decide what to do—the oldest kid still living at home getting the most leverage—and were given a proper budget and exactly one month to plan each event. And for the Fourth of July, we would have a family reunion picnic on the grounds of the mansion.

Cleo, Bella, Lewis, Will, John, and I were released approximately an hour earlier in our college classes on the eve of Thanksgiving. John gave Lewis and Will a lift back to the, while the girls and I drove back to the house together. We were silent for the first few minutes of the journey across town; we'd gone to the mall the other day to re-vamp our makeup supply, as well as getting "proper autumn attire" as my parents had requested for the following evening.

"Okay, I'll say it," Bella said from the center seat in the back. She placed both of her perfectly manicured hands upon the edges of both our seats, leaning forward, her head popping between us. "Why can't John know about us?" she asked, her gaze locked onto Cleo's profile. "I don't see why we have to keep up this charade any longer. Besides, he's been back with Nöelle for almost a month and he hasn't breathed a word about it."

"I just don't know if we can trust him yet," Cleo replies.

"What's not to trust?" Bella asks.

"He's been up-front about everything," I tell Cleo. "I say, tell him if and when you want him to know. Besides, you're not staying here forever, are you?"

Bella, who I peek up at in the rearview mirror, lowers her eyes.

Cleo sighs and shakes her head. "No, probably not. I mean, we'll have to go back to Australia eventually..."

I turn a corner a few blocks from my place. "I know Bella's got her parents back home, but who do you have back there, Cleo?" I ask her.

"My dad, my stepmum, and my younger sister, Kim," Cleo replies.

"Your parents are...?"

"Divorced, yeah," she replies. "My mum left after my second year of high school. I had to step up with Kim for over a year to be a mother-figure to her... That's before my dad married, Samantha, my stepmum, just before Lewis came over here the first time."

"And you guys get along all right?" I ask.

"Yeah, Sam's great," Cleo replies, smiling, and I can see in her eyes that her affection for her stepmother was genuine. "She's really nice and makes my dad really happy. I mean, after my mum left, Kim and I were so worried about him, but he came 'round."

"And does your dad like Lewis?"

Bella snorts from the backseat. "Do parents typically like anyone even remotely interested in or dating their daughter?"

I shrug, slowing down at a traffic light. "My parents certainly never gave a hoot one way or the other," I reply.

Bella's laughter dies down immediately, and she looks ashamed. "I'm really sorry, Nöelle, really," she tells me. "I don't ever want you thinking that I'm trying to compare anyone..."

I shake my head, effectively shrugging it off. "Doesn't matter. I've got John back now and he's all I really need..."

Cleo leans over, carefully putting an arm around my shoulder as the light turns green and as I pull through the intersection. "You've got us, too, Nöelle, don't forget that."

I sigh. "Pretty easy to," I say quietly.

"Why?" Bella asks, curious.

"Because you're going back to Australia next month for two and a half weeks for Christmas and then you'll be gone all summer," I reply, letting out a huff as we turned the final corner before the house. "I understand that you have to go home and all—believe me, I get it. But all your families sound great and I guess I don't understand it from my point of view, that's all."

"We were actually talking about that, Nöelle," Bella says, turning to Cleo and giving her a nod.

"Talking?" I ask, turning to give Cleo a look as we pull into the massive, curved driveway. I pop open my garage, just as I see the boys heading in John's car behind us. I park my car in its proper place, removing the keys from the ignition and turning to Cleo. "What's going on here?"

"Well, my parents have an extra room in their house," Bella says quickly, so as I divide my attention between them. "We've been talking the past couple of weeks and I mentioned you and they said that if it was cool with your folks and with you, they'd call them and ask if you'd..."

"...maybe want to come to Australia with us for Christmas," Cleo replied. "You're under no obligation..."

"...we'd just thought it'd be nice," Bella finishes.

I feel my eyes widen. "Well, price is certainly no obligation," I say, getting out of the car before stopping them. "You guys ever fly in a private jet?" I ask.

"Why?" Bella asks.

"Do you have one?" Cleo wants to know.

I laugh. "No, no we don't have one. My mom's older brother, Theo, has one. He worked for Boeing for years and commissioned a private jet at the height of his career and was able to retire about five years ago. He's just in his early fifties and is an experienced pilot... He and his partner, Enrique, like to fly to various locations during holidays and he just mentioned a couple of weeks ago how much they wanted to go to Australia."

"That's so cool!" Bella cried.

"Very cool," Cleo said, nodding. "Do they have kids?"

"Yes, my cousins Ricardo and Monique," I reply. "They're both in their twenties and they live in Los Angeles and Manhattan."

"What do they do?" Bella asks.

"Ricardo lives in LA and he's an entertainment lawyer," I reply. "Monique lives in Manhattan and works as a runway model."

"Ricardo and Monique, huh?" John asks as they boys break apart and come up to all of us. "What brought them up?"

I push myself from my leaning position up against my car and grin up at him as he pulls me lengthwise against him. "Just some travel arrangements."

"Oh, really?" John asks, tilting my chin up and kissing me, and I feel a wave of deliciousness waft through me. "Like what?"

I bite my lip and turn to Cleo and Bella, who nod for me to tell him. "I've... Why don't we take a walk?" I ask, taking him by the arm and pulling him around the garage and towards the footpath and into the woods surrounding our house. We walk in silence for a few moments until we are dead center in the woods, and John stops my steps, turning me towards him.

"What's going on?" he asks.

I sigh. "It's complicated..."

"Really?"

I shake my head. "No, not really. That's just what some people say when they don't know how to explain the nature of something."

"Okay," John replies, his hands winding around mine. "Explain it to me. Come on, Nöelle, you can tell me anything."

I swallow then, focusing on my new pedicure and hoping that I don't ruin it before tomorrow. I'd gotten these new silver heels that were open-toed with small diamond buckles on each strap; my father wouldn't take too kindly to me ruining my feet after buying new shoes like that... Then again, there were a lot of things he didn't take too kindly to...

"Nöelle?"

I sigh, not wanting John to be disappointed in me; Christmas was our favorite holiday and I knew that, now that we were back together, he'd be devastated that we couldn't spend it together. "Okay, let me just spit this out," I reply. "Just going to rip the Band-Aid off..."

"Well?" John asks when I hesitate.

"The girls invited me to Australia with them next month for Christmas," I burst out, my voice cracking at the end, my fear of disappointing him evident in every word I'd uttered. "There. That's it."

"That's it?" John asks, dropping my hands. "That's hardly a 'that's it' moment, Nöelle," he said, stepping away from me. "When was this decided?"

"Just now," I reply. "I'm sorry. But you know I've never been to Australia before and now that I have friends from there, it just makes sense that I should at least try to check it out..."

John sighs. "We just got back together..."

I nod at him. "I know that, and I'm sorry," I reply. One thing that I'd always loved about John was that he was a full foot taller than me—six-four to my five-four. It had made me feel so safe next to him, yet now, I felt as if I was standing beside a giant stranger, and I didn't know what to make of it. "Please say something," I said softly into the silence of the forest.

He sighs. "I don't know what to say," he admits.

"You're not going to ask me to choose, are you?"

He blinks. "What?"

"Like a lame sitcom boyfriend would in the 1990's, you know," I reply. I turn around and sigh, coming face to face with a tree and a native shrub. "No studio audience to 'awww' at us, or anything..."

"What are you talking about?"

I sigh. "I don't know," I say quietly. "I mean, like I said... You're not going to give me an ultimatum about picking Australia over you? I mean, I know it's Christmas and everything..."

"It's our favorite holiday."

"I know that." I roll my shoulders then, insecurity setting in.

"Have you made a decision?" he wants to know.

I nod. "Yeah, I have."

"They asked you just a few minutes ago, and you already know?"

I bite my lip and allow my eyes to meet his. "Yes," I reply.

"Well?" he asks.

I feel my hands gripping onto one another before sandwiching them, and my arms, together, before flipping them over, standing there like an awkward pre-teen announcing her first crush to her parents. "I'm going," I say, the second two-worded sentence that was difficult to say, the first being "We're over!" when I'd seen John and Lucinda locked in their torrid embrace.

He nods. "Okay," he replies. He kisses my forehead before turning back towards the footpath and leaving me alone in the clearing.

Suffice it to say that I ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped off immediately thereafter, the cold water a remedy for the pounding in my head. My tail grew instantly upon hitting the surface of the water, and I swam at top speed towards the cave. Surfacing only when I arrived in the moon pool, I felt the broken sobs envelope me then. Shaking, I knew that something had shifted within me, and questions ran rampant in my mind.

I was not a little girl anymore, and this was a clear wake-up call.

In the floral-print, flare skirted dress that my mother had put on reserve for me at the mall the week before, and in my new shoes, I found myself letting the curlers out of my hair for the evening ahead. My amulet was hanging from my throat, and I touched it briefly, seeking strength.

While my new Aussie friends did not celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia, they would be joining us that afternoon. They had done some research ahead of time so as they would know what the whole institution was about, and I know that it touched my mother to no end. Bella, Cleo, and my sister-in-law, Helena, had all done the job of overseeing the caterers in the kitchen with my mother, while Lewis and Will had joined my father, James, and Edmund in the living room for a football game.

I came down the stairs, not wanting any part of this holiday, and wishing that I could somehow make any water particles in the air into a thick, sleeping fog to keep everyone from eating the feast prepared for us. That, and I wanted people to ask me why I was upset all the time. It was enough now, I reasoned as I finished the final stairs after the partial landing, it was all enough now.

A ring of the doorbell sent me nearly slipping on the highly-polished marble floor of the lobby. Turning towards the door and ignoring the sound of church bells going off a mile a minute, I took ahold of the brass door handle and turned it the correct way before pulling the door open. My eyes popped when I saw who was standing before me on the porch.

"Hey."

"I...uh," I managed to get out.

"Your dad invited me," John said, straightening his tie. He was in what I assumed to be his best suit—thankfully not the one he'd worn when Lucinda had mauled him that night. "Is it all right if I come in?"

"Sure," I reply, stepping back and allowing him inside. I moved my cheek ever so slightly to give him better access to kiss it when he leaned down to do so. "How are you?"

"It's been a day," he said, running a hand through his dark hair. "But I'm fine, thank you. How are you?"

I bite my lip, my long-lasting lipstick thankfully not getting ruined. "I suppose one could say that I am sympathetically spectacular," I reply.

John raises an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Looking around, I notice that nobody has been alerted to our presence. My father, brothers, and Lewis and Will are too busy screaming for a team—I think it's New England, or something—while my mother is giving orders to the caterers. I reach out and grab John's hand and haul him up the stairs and yank him into my bedroom, pulling the door shut behind me. "Listen, I just want to impress upon you how selfish and immature you were yesterday."

John nods, unabashed. "I know that," he replies. "I reacted childishly, and for that, I apologize."

"What's going on with you?" I ask him, reaching out and attempting to take him by the hand. "Are you all right? Is it because I said I wanted to go to Australia over Christmas, or...?"

John shakes his head. "No. No, it's not that."

"Tell me, please," I say, and it is the note of desperation to solve the puzzle that John finally turns and looks at me.

"Mom's leaving," he replies.

I blink. "Your mom's...?"

He nods. "Yeah—caught Dad going at it with that secretary of his—Ginger somebody. I don't know much about it."

"John," I say, reaching out to him, but he pulls away. "I'm not leaving you," I say quietly to him. "I wouldn't do that."

John sighs, his shoulders deflating as he leans up against the wall. "Part of me knows that, Nöelle, really," he assures me. "I suppose it's all so complicated right now... They told me the night before last. Mom's leaving today—didn't want to spend the holiday anywhere near Dad, I guess..."

"I suppose not," I say, managing to get his hand to wind itself around mine. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you right now."

He shrugs. "I'll get over it, I guess."

I reach out, placing my hand on his cheek. "You could come, you know—to Australia."

John shakes his head. "I know Lewis and Will like me, but I'm not altogether sure about Bella and Cleo."

"They like you," I attempt to assure him.

He shakes head again. "One person to sight-see with is enough."

I feel my eyes wet with tears. "I hate to see you like this..."

John laughs bitterly. "Why? It must give you some sort of incentive," he remarks then.

"An incentive?" I demand.

"Yes, that due to my bad behavior, you're justified in getting away from me for the duration of the Christmas holiday."

"I'm not glorifying that with an answer."

He shakes his head a third time, dashing an unshed tear out of his eye. "I wouldn't expect you to. I'm being a jerk, I know that..."

"Don't call yourself that."

"Even if it's true?"

I nod. "Yes, even if it's true."

He pushes himself from the wall, crossing my room and throwing open the window, a thirty-five-degree chill sweeping into my bedroom. He sighs, breathing in the cool air, and running his hands along his face. "I don't deserve you," he says quietly into the forest.

I step forward and place my hand on his shoulder. "That's not true either, John, and you know it."

He turns around then. "You think so?"

"I know so," I reply, gasping at little at his closeness to me.

John sighs, looking as if he will kiss me, but makes no move to do so. "All I know is, I shouldn't expect anything. I haven't been a very good person lately, and for that, I apologize."

"You've been going through a lot," I reply.

"We agreed—no secrets," he says softly. "I've broken the rule."

"Stop," I say, reaching up and touching his cheek again. "You just couldn't tell me, you know? You needed time to process. Remember—you told me. That's the most important thing here."

John smiles completely ruefully. "Why are you being so nice and understanding towards me?" he asks.

"I..." The response comes easily to me, yet I find that it is difficult for me to actually form the necessary words. Finally, I don't need to force myself; finally, the words will come; finally, they don't have to be forced out like a small bird from a nest. "Because I love you," I reply.

John's eyes widen at that—he wasn't prepared for that one. "I love you, too," he replies, his arms snaking around my waist again to kiss me.

I smile then, feeling safe in his arms, a giggle escaping my lips.

"What?" John asks.

"I know what I'm thankful for."

"Oh, yeah?"

I look up at him, the tears flowing freely down my cheeks in a moment of trust and feeling. "I'm thankful for you," I say softly. "I'm thankful that you're mine and I'm yours. I'm thankful that you're here and you're not going anywhere. I'm thankful for you being you..."

"I'm thankful for your forgiving and considerate nature," John says softly. "I'm thankful for your exquisiteness and you compassion for others. I'm thankful for you, and always you."

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. "I'm always thankful for you, too, John," I say quietly.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Nöelle," he says quietly.

I laugh a little through my tears. "Happy Thanksgiving, John," I reply.


	4. Head Over Tails

Chapter Four: Head Over Tails

The rest of Thanksgiving went off without a hitch and soon everyone was back at school. Lewis was the only one out of all of us who had decided on a major, and while the preliminary degree was important—without that, one couldn't obtain their bachelor's degree—we all knew that deciding on a major was important. It came as a shock to me when, just a week before the Christmas holidays began, that John came to see me, breathless, and fully prepared to tell me something which he said was important.

"I know what I want to do," he said passionately.

"Do? Like, when I'm in Australia over for Christmas?" I ask.

John laughs. "Well, that's part of it," he said, turning around and seeing that Cleo, Bella, Lewis, and Will were all staring at us. "Do you maybe want to go for a walk or something?" he asks.

I purse my lips. "How about a swim?" I ask, and the girls nod from behind John, letting me know that they won't be a bother, whereupon they all manage to drag them inside the guest house. "You have to get used to the...appendage sooner or later," I say, smiling up at him.

John laughs a little. "Yeah, a swim sounds great," he replies. "I just so happen to have my suit in the car. I was thinking about taking a dip in the pool later, but this is even better."

"I hardly ever swim in my pool anymore," I confide in him as he makes a grab for his trunks, in the back of his car. "The chlorine irritates my tail sometimes, and there's always someone who's home..."

"So, none of them know, really?" he wants to know, slamming the trunk shut and stealing into the woods with me.

"No one," I reply, making my way around some of the exposed tree roots along the dirt path. "Thankfully, the pool is enough for them. Mom says the salt gives her a skin rash, Dad can't be away from work very long, and Edmund just likes the whole convenience of having a pool..."

John nods, grabbing out at me when I nearly break my neck on a tree root I didn't look out for. "Careful there," he admonishes gently.

I peek up at him. "Glad you're here," I say with a grateful smile.

We reach the edge of the woods, the rocky cliffs coming into view a few yards before we do so. After making sure that it's safe, John heads into the clearing to change, while I wait at the edge of the cliff, fully prepared to jump in when he tells me he's ready. He emerges a moment later, depositing his clothes on a nearby boulder, while I patiently wait for him. I then extend my hand towards his, and he takes mine willingly.

"Ready?" I ask him.

John grins. "Yes," he replies.

"Here we go," I say quietly.

We jump at the same time, hurtling through the air a mile a minute, before hitting the water. John swears as soon as we hit it—hey, it's December in Washington State, it was freezing to him. I encase a cloud of warm fog around him, which sustains his core temperature, and I pop up to the surface as we do so. I give him a small smile, hoping he's comfortable.

"Better?" I ask him.

He nods. "Much," he manages to get out.

"Come on," I say, diving under again.

We swim like mad, and manage to get into the moon pool quickly. He comes up gasping for air, and I'm relieved that the warmer temperature in the water here will help him. I raise my eyebrows at him, and he nods, letting me know that he is doing fine and I can ease up on the fog.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" I ask him.

"I had an idea...for my degree," he replies.

"Okay. What?"

"I think I want to be a lawyer," he says, grinning.

I raise my eyebrows again. "A lawyer? Really?"

He nods. "Yeah. I was checking out things to do around town during the holidays and turns out that my dad knows someone giving a seminar all about the law and do's and don'ts in the courtroom. It was initially sold out, but Dad's going because of his job and called the guy up. I managed to get a spot, and I can take all the notes I want and I even get to have dinner with the speaker afterwards with Dad and ask any questions I want."

"Wow," I manage to get out.

"What do you think?" John wants to know.

"I think you're clearly considering your future," I reply. "I mean, you've decided on something practical, and if you play your cards right, you won't be in school as long, had you decided on a medical degree."

"It was always Dad's intention to hand the firm over to me," John explains in a patient manner to me. "But you knew that."

I nod at him. "I did," I reply. I reach forward then, allowing our hands to co-mingle beneath the surface of the water, our fingers mutually wrinkling, each pad pressing against the other. "I just can't believe that it's Christmas already and we have to be apart. Of course, you know I support you and your work, and it'll be nice to go to Australia, but I'll still miss you."

John smiles. "Hey, let's make a promise, okay?"

I let out a small giggle as he pulls me to him. "Anything."

"Let's promise to tell each other all about our respective trips," he tells me in a suave manner. "Yours to another country, and mine into law."

I let out a small laugh and then it is followed by a gasp as he tilts my chin up to kiss me. "It's a deal," I reply, and he covers his lips with mine.

Uncle Theo and Enrique had their plane brought to our section of land that could easily double as a small, independent airport. John, my parents, and Edmund were there to say goodbye, while James and Helena had come over the night before, and had told us that Helena was pregnant with their first child. It was a joyous occasion, but it overshadowed the news of my upcoming trip, although I said nothing. I stood off to the side with John, not particularly wanting to engage my parents for a prolonged period of time; especially now that John and I were back on out in the open, it was reasonable that I was reluctant to leave him.

"Don't worry—you're going to have a great time," he assures me.

I smile up at him. "I know—at least, I think I do," I say quietly. "I'm just going to miss you so much..." I stand on my toes, acting like I'm going to kiss him on the cheek, but, in reality, I'm whispering in his ear. "When we have children, we'll never let one outshine the other. Understood?"

John chuckles at my logic. "Except for appropriate occasions like their birthdays and such, right?" he asks, thinking like a lawyer already—always looking for a loophole.

"Exactly." I get down to my normal height, allowing him to lean down and kiss me goodbye before giving him a final hug.

"I love you," he whispers to me.

"I love you, too," I reply.

I say a brief farewell to my parents before getting on the plane with Cleo, Bella, Lewis, and Will. Uncle Theo was saying goodbye to my parents while Enrique was ensuring that our gas supply was good. This left the rest of us to explore the cabin a bit. The flight was to be in between fifteen and eighteen hours, so we knew that we would eventually have to sleep.

Cream colored couches lined the back sides of the plane, which I knew could be converted into beds. There were eight seats in the front of the plane, while there were wooden tables by them and glass ones by the couches, which could be put into the floor at the press of a button. Storage, out in the open like this, existed in the form of pull-out drawers, all in polished cherry wood, along the walls. There was a small kitchen, directly across from the back bathroom—the front being beside the cockpit—while there were four bedrooms in the back. We all of us peered out the window, giving final waves to my family as Uncle Theo climbed up the stairs and pulled them in after him. He promptly instructed us to take our seats up front, and would let us know either via the intercom or by leaving the door open that we could get up. He said that the kitchen was fully-stocked with our favorite food and drinks and that we needn't worry about him or Enrique, that they had snacks and would handle getting more if they ran out themselves. It was then that we took our seats as instructed as we prepared for take-off.

Looking out the window, I watched as the ground below got fainter and fainter, and, as we all waved, how small everyone and everything was getting. Finally, the wheels left the ground and—with the wings adjusted properly—the wheels were permitted to fold up into the plane. As the ground soon turned into sections of green, yellow, and brown, and the partially-cloud-filled sky surrounded us, Uncle Theo informed us that we could get up and walk around. We ate some nuts and chocolates from the kitchen, leaving the steaks, baked potatoes, and hot chocolate lava cakes for our dinner, the cereal for our breakfast, and the sandwiches for our lunch the following day.

I watched as my new gang of Aussie friends expressed joy in their return home, no matter how brief it was. All I hoped for was the opposite of a cold reception. I'd never spoken to Rikki or Emma, their two friends back home, and I wondered if they were as protective as Cleo had been. Surely, once they knew who I was, they wouldn't automatically hold my status as an American against me, and we could all just simply get along and be friends.

But, as I'm sure you all know, life is never that simple.

We touched down at the Gold Coast Airport after seventeen hours and a few minutes in the air, just after lunch the following day. We gathered our luggage and stepped off the plane when directed by Uncle Theo, who made sure we got down safely. We walked towards the hired car that was going to take us to Cleo's father and stepmother's house, and I also knew that we would meet her now-fifteen-year-old sister, Kim. Lewis and Will would just be stopping off at the Sertori residence before going to stay at the McCartney residence.

The car ride took just under an hour, after we said goodbye to Uncle Theo and Enrique, who were staying in the Gold Coast at a luxury hotel until it was time to take us back to the States. We paid the driver upon our arrival at the Sertori house and stepped outside, and I inhaled the scent of Australia for the second time. We walked up the garden path as the front door opened, and Mr. and Mrs. Sertori came outside, greeting us enthusiastically, Kim at their heels.

Mr. Sertori wore a floral-patterned shirt and khaki shorts, earth-toned sandals on his tanned feet. His hair was a deep brown and his eyes had deep laugh-lines surrounding them. He laughed when he made eye contact with Cleo and pulled her into his arms, with an affectionate, "Hello, love," in the typical Australian accent that I'd grown accustomed to.

"Hey, Dad," Cleo said, hugging him back.

"So glad you're home, darling," said Sam, Cleo's stepmother, as she stepped forward and gave Cleo a hug as well. Sam had springy curls—golden-brown in color—which were close to her head, and pale blue eyes. She seemed to favor colors in the pastel region, which seemed to go perfectly well with her burnt-cream -like skin.

"Hey, Sam," Cleo said affectionately. "Kim!" Cleo cried, stepping around her stepmother and pulling her blonde sister into her arms, who seemed to favor skin-tight clothing in loud colors. Cleo pronounced her sister's name like 'KEY-M', which was a whole new experience for me.

"Who's this lot, then?" Don Sertori asked, clapping a hand on Lewis's shoulder and throwing smiles Bella and Will's way.

"Dad, you remember Bella and Will," Cleo said patiently. "And that's Lewis, my better half for quite a long time..."

"Yes, I know them all very well, thank you," he replied briskly before looking me up and down. "But I don't think you and I have met yet, love," he said, putting out a hand. "Don Sertori."

"Nöelle Parker," I replied, taking his offered hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you at last, Mr. Sertori."

"Don, please, love," he said with a smile. "You're the daughter of the Dean of Evergreen University, aren't you?"

I nod. "Yes, I am," I reply. "The American Marine Biology Institute is a part of that and Lewis is its newest prodigy."

"It was really nice of your father to offer Cleo a full scholarship," Don says, giving an affectionate look towards Cleo.

I flash Don a smile. "He's all about young love, Don."

"And staying in the guest house rent-free? Amazing."

"Cleo has sent us pictures," Sam puts in with a smile, "and it's simply a breathtaking property."

"My mother will so appreciate that," I tell him. "Thank you." I turn and look at Kim for the first time, hardly seeing any kind of resemblance to Cleo, other than the feeling of intensity behind their eyes. "And you must be Kim," I said, reaching into my bag. "Cleo said not to, but my sister-in-law Helena has connections to this huge makeup firm, catered exclusively to teenagers, and I thought I'd bring you their latest thing," I said, taking out the beauty kit. "It has a specialized color coding system to figure out if you're a summer, autumn, spring, or winter, and it's all about natural beauty," I said, handing it over, hoping she'd be taken in by the pink leather case with the rhinestones spelling out 'KIM' on the top.

"That's so generous of you," Don puts in, clearly overwhelmed.

"Don't think you've been forgotten," I say with a smile and diving back into my bag eagerly and taking out what appeared to be a stick. "This fishing pole has the latest technology and it's collapsible," I say, handing it over.

"Oh!" Don says, looking like a child in a candy store as he reaches for it. He then proceeds to press the correct button, and it springs out immediately, much to his surprise and delight.

"And Sam," I say, turning to her, "Cleo tells me that you enjoy painting, so I got you a set of watercolor paints," I say, taking out the slim wooden box, which is embossed with her name in platinum plating on the top.

Sam looks shocked, taking the box from me and running her hands along the letters of her name. "You didn't have to do this. Thank you," she says softly. Samanthagleams back up at her in the sunlight of the Sertori front yard, and it is then that Sam remembers where we are. "Oh! Don, where are our manners?" she asks and, noticing how preoccupied he is with his fishing rod, playfully rolls her eyes. "We have chips and sandwiches inside for everyone," she says. "Lewis, Will, you must stay..."

"Thanks, but I promised my family I'd get to them as soon as possible," Lewis says with a smile to Sam. He puts an arm around Cleo and kisses her goodbye and proceeds to walk down the path. "Will?" he asks, turning halfway towards Will, who still has his own arm around Bella. "You coming?"

Will shakes his head, almost as if he was completely distracted by Bella's dazzling looks, which would be conceivable. "Right, sorry," he stammered, quickly kissing Bella goodbye and running off after Will.

"While Don plays with his fishing pole in the backyard, and Kim puts her new makeup case away and helps, please come inside, girls," Sam says with a smile and leads us in.

There is a small area by the front door where we all stand—a bit cramped—where I quickly slip off my shoes after watching Cleo and Bella do the same. There is a staircase directly next to the front door to the left, and, just beyond the wall, is the living room. Sam motions for us to set our things on the first landing of the stairs and gestures for us to go into the living room. True to her words, Don walks through the kitchen—just beyond the living room—and into the backyard to fiddle with his new toy. Kim flops down by the window, ignoring Sam's direct command for now, and continues playing with her makeup case.

Cleo, Bella, and I sit on the couch, which is wonderfully comfortable and watch as Sam heads to the kitchen. She sets out the makings for sandwiches out from the fridge and checks on something in the oven, which Bella explains must be the chips she promised. I cock my head to one side at the explanation, and both girls stare at me.

"You eat chips all the time in America," Cleo says with a smile.

"Does Sam make her own?" I ask, looking around the kitchen and managing to peek into the sink. "I don't see any potato skins..."

"Chips," Bella says slowly, "like what you eat with a hamburger...?"

"Girls, come on!" Kim says, looking up impatiently from her makeup kit. "It's so obvious!"

"What is?" Cleo asks her younger sister.

"Nöelle calls them French fries, because she's from America, isn't she?" Kim says a little impatiently. "Cut the girl a break! She can't know all our expressions, now can she?"

Sam moves to the doorway and raises her eyebrows at Kim. "Kim, I thought I told you to stop playing with that," she says patiently but firmly. "I asked you to come and help me in the kitchen."

Kim sighs, but nevertheless gets to her feet and shuts up the case. She walks into the kitchen, looking around. "You sliced up the tomato, just like Dad likes it, right, Sam?" she asks.

Sam smiles at Kim. "Yes—not too big, not too small. Perhaps you'd like to go out into the garden and get some lettuce. And tell your father we're making his first because we always know what he wants."

"Sure, Sam," Kim says, walking outside and speaking to Don.

"Text from Emma," Cleo says, looking at her phone. "Her and her parents went away for the weekend with her and Ash to celebrate the holiday and they won't be back until tomorrow..."

"Text from Rikki," Bella says a moment later. "She's going over the books with Zane at the café tonight and is totally slammed..."

"Text from John," I say. "He misses me already," I tell them, feeling totally lame by comparison, but feel better when they smile at my statement.

Ever since Don and Sam had gotten married, Sam had wanted to put her own personal touch onto the house. As a result, they had done some expanding in some areas, most notably Cleo's room. The grand unveiling occurred later that evening, and we were quite shocked to see a smaller bedroom connected to Cleo's room, with two beds, each with a storage bed beneath. Bella and I were duly shocked by this sudden arrangement, but I will readily admit that I was not looking forward to sleeping on the floor.

As soon as the door closed after 'light's out', it was down to business. "Dad and Sam have to work tomorrow, and Kim still has a week of school left," Cleo said casually that evening before we went to bed. "I was thinking we could hit the café for breakfast and ask Emma to meet us there."

Bella sighs, visibly saddened by this arrangement. "Sure," she replies.

"What's the matter?" I ask.

"Yeah, Bella. You okay?" Cleo wants to know.

"Will Lewis and Will be there?"

Cleo looks confused by this. "Of course—despite everything, I'm sure they both want to see Zane, at least."

Bella bites her lip. "I'm just..."

"What?" Cleo asks, and I lean forward.

"Well, I know Nöelle is the newer member of the group, obviously, but you, Rikki, and Emma were friends before I even came along. I don't know, maybe I was a replacement or something..."

"Nobody could replace Emma," Cleo says firmly, and reacts immediately to Bella's further look of sadness. "I didn't mean... Hey," she says, taking both of our hands. "I may have been best friends with Emma and Rikki a full two years before I met you, Bella, and three years and three months for you, Nöelle, but I'm best friends with all of you. Okay? Nothing is going to change that."

Bella smiles. "Okay. Just promise me one thing."

"What?" Cleo asks.

"Can me and Nöelle sing Pearls Beneath the Sea at the café?"

Cleo laughs, and I join her. "Well, I think that's up to Nöelle," she replies, which is an appropriate response.

I nod. "Yeah. If it's cool with Rikki and Zane, that'd be great."

"Let's ask tomorrow," Cleo says.

Lewis and Will come to meet us at the Sertori house before we walk into town and by the beach, close by the café. Cleo and Bella point out the beach and such, telling me that it's appropriate to wear a bathing suit underneath my street clothes for cover at all times, just in case. We walk along the boardwalk before making our way to the café, and I find that the sea air is incredible in the morning. It is easy to spot the café as it takes over my mind's eye, a sign that will be lit up at night declaring it to be Rikki's Café.

We walk up towards the main entrance, letting ourselves in and I find myself admiring the set-up of it all. Bella moves to show me the stage while Cleo goes to the back, where the offices are, to find Rikki. Lewis and Will joke about Lewis being the drummer for the makeshift band for the café, just as the door opens again and who I presume to be Emma is standing there. Lewis approaches her almost immediately and hugs her affectionately, and claps the guy standing next to her on the shoulder, who could only be Ash Dove, her long-term boyfriend.

"Great to see you guys," Lewis says.

"Likewise, Lewis," Emma says. She's quite pretty, with golden hair to her waist and subtle blue eyes. Her lips are full, and are in the perfect pout; her skin itself is as fair as mine, yet seems to be smoother.

"Great to be back," Ash says, clapping Lewis on the shoulder.

Cleo emerges from the back shortly thereafter, Rikki in tow. "Emma!" she cries and launches herself towards her best friend, Rikki following.

"Emma!" Rikki shouts, nearly crashing into a table in the process. Rikki had wavy, pale hair that matched that of a classic highlighter pen, which grew to just past her shoulders. Her lips are plump and quite darker than Emma's, whilst her eyes are sky blue in color, outlined by thick, dark lashes.

Bella steps forward then, and Will has his arm around her shoulders. "Hi," Bella says softly.

"And you must be Bella," Emma says, shaking Bella's hand. "I've heard so much about you from the girls. Pleasure to meet you."

"And you," Bella replies.

"And this is Nöelle," Cleo says, going up on stage and pulling me forward. "Her father is the Dean of Evergreen University."

"We're staying in her guest house," Lewis puts in.

"All of us," Will says.

"It's right on the water—it's gorgeous," Bella finishes.

Emma smiles at Bella, seemingly understanding her meaning. "Must be nice to say you've swum on two different continents," she jokes.

"Yes," Bella replies.

"I swim, too," I put in, and Rikki stares at me.

"Really?" she asks.

I nod. "Of course. I love it."

Emma fixes me with a cool look. "Well. Why don't you go swimming, then?" she asks, her voice as hard as her eyes.

I blink. I knew that Emma had spoken to Bella on Skype, so she was prone to trust her more—and their secret was probably shared. I was equally shocked that Emma didn't understand that I was one of her, and it hurt me. Instead, I drew myself up to my full height and said, "I don't appreciate that. I know I'm a guest here, but this isn't exactly the warm welcome I was expecting."

Emma glares at me and throws her water on me. She smirks, clearly pleased with herself, and stands back, waiting.

Instead of running, I hold my ground, waiting. However, the water merely drips from my body, and my legs don't disappear. Looking up at Bella and Cleo, they look as shocked as I feel, and I find I cannot explain this. I shake my head then and push past Emma, making my way away from the café and down the beach. I force myself not to cry as I look around briefly to ascertain that nobody is staring at the fully-clothed, sobbing and pathetic American girl. When I see that nobody is—I'm not much to look at anyway—I drive head-first into the water. Swimming to its depths, I find peace and solace in the quiet that follows, and soon find that I am content to never come out. I feel relief as my golden tail appears, and sink deeper and deeper into the water. My sobs are quieted down here, and at least I can think. My thoughts are plagued by one thing: One replacement, Emma could handle. A second one? A second American one? Surely, they had to go...

I avoided Emma, Cleo, Rikki, and Bella at all costs. Whenever they came back to the Sertori house, I'd feign sleep. During the day, I'd be up before them or up after them, so as we never had the excuse to 'accidentally' run into each other. Now that we were all considered adults, Don and Sam never got in our way so to speak, and I afforded the same pleasure to the girls. I found the moon pool on my first dive day, after Emma had thrown the water on me, but had steered clear of it in the meantime, feeling utterly unwelcome everywhere.

I cut my trip short by a week without telling anyone, not having any fun and missing John terribly. I'd spoken to him on the phone multiple times, and he was quite angry at how they were all treating me, but encouraged me to talk to them, yet I informed him that the silence was not one-sided. I was even tempted to sick a water tentacle on Rikki and Emma as revenge—bystander for Rikki, and direct for Emma—but even I wasn't that mean. On the eve of my departure, I finally ran into Bella again, who noticed me packing.

"What are you doing?!" she demanded, shocked.

I met her eyes, and she drew back, stunned at how red-rimmed they were. "I'm packing," I replied steadily.

"Why? We don't leave in a week..."

"Correction—you don't leave in a week," I said, setting another folded pile of clothing into my suitcase. "I leave tomorrow. Don't worry—I talked to Uncle Theo and Enrique about it. I told them that I missed John a bunch, and I'm getting a plane home, so don't you worry—their jet will be available to you on the assigned date..."

Bella made a grab for the next pile of clothes I was attempting to pack away. "Stop it now," she ordered.

I pulled the pile away from her. "No," I replied levelly. "You wanted to play the innocent bystander. Congratulations—you got your way, and you're still in the group. I'm clearly now allowed, considering Emma's the elected president of the whole thing..."

Bella perched on the edge of the bed that she'd been occupying. "You know, on the outside of it, if I didn't know about you already, I would have thought you were just trying to infiltrate us..."

I stopped packing and turned to her. "Is that what Emma said?!" I cried. At her nod, I shook my head. "Cheap shot," I muttered.

Bella sighed. "Look, we're all going to the café tonight. Come with us."

"Why?" I muttered.

"This is why," she replies, opening the nightstand by the bed I'd been sleeping in the past two weeks. It was the notepad I'd brought with me; while most was simply chicken scratch, there were a few new songs in there. "I think we should show them all this," she says, flipping to the last page.

"Head Over Tails?" I demanded, shaking my head. "You're kidding."

"No—it's really good," she said. "Which is why I made copies and showed the band at the café..."

"You've done what?!" I demanded.

Bella nodded. "Yeah. And we've been learning it. But it's clearly a duet, so we'd have to sing it together."

I get to my feet, running my hands through my hair. "I've been crying all week—I look like a wreck. Your friends, except Cleo, Will, and Lewis—all hate me. I've barely eaten in days due to all this stress... And did I happen to mention that I have nothing appropriate to wear tonight?"

Bella sticks up a finger and holds out a bag. "Look inside."

"Buy something when Emma wasn't looking?" I asked, opening up the bag and peeking inside. Inside was a lovely sleeveless green dress with a flared skirt and an oval neckline. It would come to just above my knee, and I found I had the perfect green flats to go with it. I'd wear my customary silver locket with it, and found myself embracing Bella rather quickly. "Thank you," I said quietly.

"Come on," Bella says, turning me around. "Let's get you dressed and then we'll see what we can do about those eyes."

At approximately nine o'clock on the twenty-second of December, Bella and I arrived at Rikki's Café to sing. Dressed to the nines, we stepped inside the place and I looked around, finding the stage underneath the night lights of the place, and followed Bella onto it. I was introduced to Zane, the keyboard player, who seemed to immediately drool over me, which set me on edge, although I knew he would be easy to manipulate when it came down to how I wanted my song played. I flashed a smile to Lewis, who nodded at me.

"Nöelle?"

"Yeah?" I asked, turning to Bella.

"I have to talk to Will for a minute. Lewis needs to speak to you anyway," she calls over her shoulder, going off stage.

Perplexed, I turn to Lewis, thankful that Nate has gone off stage to get a drink before show time.

"What's up?" I ask Will.

"I had a theory about what went down when you met Emma and she threw the water on you," he whispered.

I blinked. "Yeah?"

"I think maybe it was the fact that it was freshwater, combined with your stress and anxiety at being in a new place," he said quietly. "Don't worry—Bella showed me the lyrics of your new song. I think it's just enough to get the point across. It's going to be fine—things are going to work out."

I smile at him. "Thanks," I say quietly, turning as Bella and Nate return on stage and Bella grabs one of the microphones.

Bella nods for Zane to turn down the music and smiles at the audience. "How's everyone doing tonight?" she asks.

The crowd cheers.

"I'm sure some of you remember me—I'm Bella Hartley. I moved here last year before leaving last June for university. Well, I live in America now for said university, and this time, I brought someone back home with me—someone entirely knew to Australia. This is Nöelle Parker," she says, pushing me towards the second microphone.

"H-hi there everyone," I say, and am shocked when several people lean forward in their chairs at my American accent. "Nice to be here. I've never been to Australia before, but I'm really happy to be here. This song that we'll be singing tonight is near and dear to me—I wrote it, actually. I hope you all enjoy it!"

Bella nods at me, and Nate and Lewis begin playing.

"Breathtaking waves overtake me," I begin, nodding at Bella.

"I turn around and it's then that I see," she continues.

"That you're standing there," I say.

"It was almost as if you cared," we sang together. "It was plain to see, that I was head over tails..."

"...across the sand, riding the rails," Bella went on.

"Take a bow, you were there," I continue.

Bella goes on, "And even though life's unfair..."

"...we always make our love work..." I keep going.

We say the next line together, "Head over tails, despite the smirk..."

"Sea foam all around," Bella says.

"I cannot make a sound," I say.

"But it's time to speak the truth," Bella continues.

"You always were such a sleuth," I go on.

"Everyone knows how much it means," Bella says.

"When you made me your queen," I keep on.

"But I guess I'm head over tails for you," Bella says, smiling at me.

"And this song is only a clue," I finish.

The whole café erupts in applause for the two of us, and I find my cheeks flush at the sound of the cheers for both our voices, and for my words. I try to sneak off stage, however, and Bella pulls me back up and takes a bow with me. She pulls me towards her and embraces me, and I find comfort in the gesture.

"Ready for your Christmas present?" she asks.

"This wasn't it?" I say, shocked.

She pulls back and turns towards the darkness, beckoning. She smiles as, through the shadows, John steps out with a smile.

"John... John!" I shriek, running as quickly as I can towards him and throwing my arms around him, kissing him immediately. "What are you doing here?! You had that seminar..."

"Hey, even attorneys have families who need them," he replies. "It ended two days ago, and I flew out here on the next plane."

I throw my arms around him again, feeling safe and comfort all at once. "God, I am so happy to see you..."

"Me, too, Nöelle," he assures me, pulling back. "But it looks like I'm not the only person who wants to talk to you."

Turning, I see Emma and Rikki standing behind me; Cleo and Bella stand a few feet back, clearly pleased with themselves.

"Hi," I say to both of them.

"Hey," Rikki says.

"Hello," Emma replies.

"Got a minute?" Rikki asks me.

"Um...?" I turn to John.

He smiles. "I'll catch up with Lewis and Will," he replies. "Still haven't gotten the divine opportunity of meeting Zane or Ash yet," he says, kissing me on the cheek before going off with the guys.

"Private conversation," Emma says, taking me by the arm and leading me to the back, where Rikki's office is.

I am perplexed when they take me out the back door and Emma bends down and picks up a discarded cup on the ground. "Um, what are you...?" I ask.

"Emma, don't!" Rikki cries.

Emma dips the cup in the water carefully, so carefully that she doesn't get any on her, thus exposing her secret. Of course, I had no idea if she had anything to hide, although that would explain why she didn't like me initially. She then turns around and attempts to throw it on me, but I'd been anticipating this. I was now too quick for her, and fully prepared to beat her at her own game.

Just as she reaches out to throw it on me, I throw out my hand instinctively, tired of all the secrets. I'd assumed about what they were, and I was fully prepared to fight them if they threatened to expose me. The water immediately bended to my will, and I felt delight in the gasps that escaped Emma and Rikki's mouths.

I manipulate it to my liking briefly before flattening my hand, the water turning into fog instantly. "Any questions?" I ask.

"I..." Emma says, at a loss for words.

"Sorry," Rikki says, sounding sincere. "Really." She smiles, seemingly relieved at knowing my secret. "I'm just glad that there's one of us in America looking out for Cleo and Bella."

"Rikki!" Emma hisses.

"I assumed," I said quietly, my declaration causing Emma to look at me. "I did the same when it came to Cleo and Bella. Bella and I had a connection, and it made us realize that we're distant cousins..."

"You're related to Bella?" Rikki asks.

I nod. "Yeah—distantly, over many generations, but yes. That's why we felt such a connection when we first met. Cleo acted just like Emma did, seeking to cut me off because they neither of them knew that I was... Well, you know."

Rikki purses her lips, thinking. "Tell me, is your tail a golden orange?"

"Oh, come on, Rikki," Emma scolds. "Isn't that kind of xenophobic?"

I laugh at that, and Emma gives me a small smile. "No, it's fine. Uh, yeah. Yeah, it's a golden orange, just like yours."

"Huh," Rikki says, taking in the information.

Emma sighs. "I owe you an apology, too," she says. "You're obviously keeping Cleo and Bella's secret, too. So, we can trust you. I should have gotten to know you before passing judgement. I mean, hey, we're eighteen and supposedly adults here, but clearly I wasn't acting that way, and for that, I apologize."

I smile at Emma. "That's okay. Thanks for the apology."

"Don't you have more songs?" Rikki asks.

I nod. "Plenty," I reply.

"Come on, then," Emma says, and we walk towards the back entrance, where John comes waltzing out.

"There you are—I missed you," he says.

"Take your time," Rikki says. "Next set in ten minutes."

"Have fun—it's a really romantic spot here," Emma calls over her shoulder as she and Rikki head inside. Promptly, I move to kiss John, but he pulls back, not making eye contact. I quickly ignore the chill that flows through me, not wanting to think that John would break up with me this close to Christmas, if at all. "Hey, what is it?" I ask. "What's wrong? Did the guys not welcome you into the group or something?"

He sighs. "You said 'no secrets'. Your words. I agreed."

"What about them?" I ask.

John looks at me, his eyes pained. "Cleo and Bella?" he demands, his words like daggers into my heart. "And Emma and Rikki?"

"What about them?" I ask again.

He sighs. "I heard you out here... All of you...? All of you are me—?"

"Shush!" I hiss, clamping my hand down onto his mouth.

"It's true?" he asks, wrestling away from me.

I lower my eyes. "I can't say."

"Can't or won't?" he asks.

I raise my eyes to his. "I shall be loyal," I reply.

"Until you decide where your loyalties lie, I'll be on the next plane home to America my loyalties and I belong," he says firmly, dropping my hands and walking down the path, down the boardwalk, and in the direction that I know ultimately leads to the airport.


End file.
